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
Margaret Thatcher Thatcher did not devote herself entirely to studying chemistry as she only intended to be a chemist for a short period of time. Even while working on the subject, she was already thinking towards law and politics. She was reportedly prouder of becoming the first Prime Minister with a science degree than becoming the first woman, and as Prime Minister attempted to preserve Somerville as a women's college. During her time at Oxford, she was noted for her isolated and serious attitude. Her first boyfriend, (1926–2014), recalled that she was "very thoughtful and a very good conversationalist. That's probably what