Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady who could frighten even the Soviets

LOVE or loathe her, no one who was around at the time will forget Margaret Thatcher

It was on May 4, 1979, that she became the UK’s first elected female Prime Minister.

In Maggie’s tenure, which lasted almost 12 years, the Iron Lady would turn the British political landscape upside down.

The daughter of a grocer, she’d been a chemist and a barrister before entering politics.

One of her childhood memories was of her family taking in a young Jewish girl during the Second World War, but if there was a soft heart in there, most rarely saw it.

Even the Soviets found her scarily impressive, giving her that Iron Lady nickname.

US President Ronald Reagan in particular, admired her to the extent that you suspected there might be something of a romantic crush there, too!

Many recall her for her attitude to unions, the poll tax and the phrase: “You know, there is no such thing as society.”

Others remember her strength during the Falklands War, and if anyone didn’t think a woman could be as ruthless and uncompromising as any man, Margaret Thatcher put them right.

It’s unlikely we’ll see the Iron Lady’s like again.