Thatcher’s funeral: the guest list

More than 2,000 global political figures, celebrities and old foes invited

LONDON, April 16, (AFP): More than 2,000 global political figures, celebrities and even a couple of Margaret Thatcher’s old foes have been invited to the former British premier’s funeral in London on Wednesday. Here is a rundown of the guest list: World leaders past and present Several names reflect the Iron Lady’s strong relationship with the United States, including ex-vice president Dick Cheney and former secretary of state Henry Kissinger. The official US delegation will be led by two Republican secretaries of state from Thatcher’s time in power, George Shultz and James Baker.

Every surviving US president was invited, though none is attending.

In a rare move, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is attending, the first time she has been at a former prime minister’s funeral since Winston Churchill died in 1965.

International prime ministers on the guest list include Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, Italy’s Mario Monti, Canada’s Stephen Harper, Poland’s Donald Tusk and Kuwait’s Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah.

Several political giants of Thatcher’s Cold War era are unable to attend due to ill-health. They include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, ex-German chancellor Helmut Kohl and Nancy Reagan, widow of former US president Ronald Reagan.

Representatives of Nelson Mandela have been invited. His predecessor as South African president, F.W. De Klerk, is a confirmed guest.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso will be there.

Former premiers John Howard of Australia and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia will represent their countries, while Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will represent Germany.

One controversial guest will be Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of South Africa’s Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party. He and Thatcher were kindred spirits in opposing sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid government.

Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner will be conspicuously absent, having not received an invitation. Her London ambassador Alicia Castro declined her own invitation. Tensions between London and Buenos Aires have been rising over the Falkland Islands, which Thatcher recaptured in a brief but bloody 1982 war. Showbiz and media Singer Shirley Bassey and actress Joan Collins have confirmed their attendance.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber, composer of many of the world’s best-loved musicals, will be there with his lyricist Tim Rice. Actor Michael Crawford, the first man to play the Phantom of the Opera, is also attending.