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
Mark Thatcher the elevation of his mother to the peerage as a baroness in 1992; he shares this courtesy with his twin sister, Carol. After the death of his father in 2003, he inherited the Thatcher baronetcy which had been awarded in 1990, the first baronetcy created since 1964. Following his conviction in relation to the Equatorial Guinea coup d'état in 2004, it was suggested that he should be stripped of the title. Mark Thatcher Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is a British businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,