Margaret Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his Conservative government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election. Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high unemployment and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an ongoing recession. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly
Thatcher baronets Thatcher baronets The Thatcher baronetcy, of Scotney in the County of Kent, is a baronetcy created for the husband of Margaret Thatcher, Denis Thatcher, on 7 December 1990 following the resignation of his wife on 28 November. The current holder is Mark Thatcher, who succeeded his father in 2003. It is the only baronetcy to have been granted since 1964 (as of ) and is one of only three extant hereditary titles awarded outside the British royal family since 1965, the other being the Earldom of Stockton and Viscountcy Macmillan of Ovenden, both conferred on former Conservative Prime Minister Harold