First Thatcher ministry First Thatcher ministry Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 4 May 1979 to 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative government. She was the first woman to hold that office. During her premiership, Thatcher moved to liberalise the British economy through deregulation, privatisation, and the promotion of entrepreneurialism. This article details the first government Thatcher led at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II from 1979 to 1983. Following the vote of no confidence against the Labour government and prime minister James Callaghan on 28 March 1979, a general election was called for 3
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tyne. William Whitelaw was Margaret Thatcher's "de facto" deputy from 1979–1988, an unofficial position he combined with that of Home Secretary in 1979–1983 and Leader of the House of Lords after 1983. Sir Geoffrey Howe was bestowed the title of Deputy Prime Minister by Thatcher in 1989, on being removed from the post of Foreign Secretary. He resigned as her deputy in 1990, making a resignation speech that is widely thought to have hastened Thatcher's downfall. Thatcher's successor John Major did not appoint a Deputy Prime Minister until 1995, when Michael Heseltine was given the post. John Prescott, who was