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 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, and Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, and is the twin brother of Carol Thatcher. He has two children by his first wife, Diane Burgdorf. He married his second wife, Sarah Jane Russell, daughter of Terry Clemence, a wealthy property developer, and sister of Viscountess Rothermere, in 2008. On the death of his father in 2003 he became Sir Mark Thatcher when he succeeded to the Thatcher baronetcy, a hereditary title which