The Iron Lady...Margaret Thatcher

The 'iron lady' is the nickname often attributed to Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. The appellation is used to refer to those qualities of strong will and authority. Thatcher was
indeed determined to improve financial sectors. She won popularity as she decreased unemployment and contributed to an economic recovery which favored her re-election in 1983.


A Conservative minister remarked that she "carried the authority of her office always with her. It was in her handbag….She was asserting it the whole time." Just as Chamberlain had had his umbrella and Churchill his cigar,
Margaret Thatcher's physical and metaphorical prop was her handbag. It contained crumpled notes full of facts and figures that could floor an interlocutor at 20 paces. "She cannot see an institution without hitting it with her handbag," another observer wrote.

The "handbagger"—prime minister for 11 years, six months and 24 days (1979-90)—turned around the ruinously ailing British economy of the 1970s and shook the nation out of its demoralized slough. She broke the mold—she was the
first woman prime minister in Europe and the longest-serving head of government in Britain in the 20th century. She achieved iconic status in the Conservative Party and, as the country's representative, internationally.





"Thatcherism" became a label not just for her aggressive "conviction" politics but also a byword for the changed spirit of the 1980s.

By virtue of her social and nonconformist religious background she was an outsider in the patrician Conservative Party. By her heretical economic views she was a minority voice. By her individualism in the notoriously clubby world of politics, she generated suspicion. By her behavior in the European arena, she made heads of state bristle. By her very handbag, that symbol of femininity, she stood out from the male crowd of politicians. And by the fact that she wielded it with such masculine force she seemed an aberration of genteel womanhood.

Many films and documentaries have been made about this strong willed woman who became an example, if not a monument, for female heads of government and other 'iron ladies' like:
Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian Prime Minister or Angela Merkel current Chancellor of Germany...etc

Sources:
http://www.who2.com/margaretthatcher.html
http://www.historynet.com/margaret-thatcher-iron-lady.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Lady

Thanks for the information

@ Blidi : you're welcome brother
@ glourious :i was waiting for your post!! it was a 'clin d'oeil' actually, to see if you still remember Lady Thatcher, i see that you still do
I wonder if you dreamt of her handbag kidding.

It seems it was the Russian media who gave her this nickname . You can lecture us more than i can possibly do on the matter, if you're not still traumatized

hello again !!! believe me Sassy Thatcher is the most interesting political figure anyone can ever deal with. Everything about her: her character, her political philosophy and her strength and determination to carry out her plans for Britain are just amazing.
I'll be back to tell you some of the most interesting things I learnt about her...because now I need to run

Hi sweet Hadiya, I'm so happy that you liked it
Euh, a reflection? Yes you are one of those iron ladies I admire And if you mean me; this is just the best compliment one can give me
Just kidding

Oh that's so kind of you sister, to think so high of me <3 same here. Though I'm just standing on a hill compared to others who are on mountains.

" Power is like being a lady... if you have to tell people you are, you aren't." Margaret Thatcher

God! I'm speechless, it's too much Bless you sweet Hadiya, just hope i'll be at the level of your expectations my sister.