Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baron Thatcher, is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and led the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She held the position of Prime Minister. England is the longest in the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. A Soviet journalist named her "Lady of the Iron," a nickname associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented what is known as Seven Starshipism. Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and briefly worked as a chemistry researcher, before becoming a lawyer. She was elected MP for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Minister of Education and Science in his government from 1970 to 1974. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in Britain.
From 1975 until 1990, she was the leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, and from 1979 to 1990, she was the country's first female Prime Minister. She began her career as a chemist before entering politics and earning the nickname "Iron Lady" for her unyielding politics.
