Margaret Thatcher: economic transformation, political polarization

KINGSTN, Jamaica - MRS Margaret Thatcher, who secured her place in British history as the first and only female prime minister of Great Britain, died yesterday at the age of 87 years. Referred to as the "Iron Lady", the epithet given to her by cold war Soviet Union, Mrs Thatcher ruled for 11 divisive years (May 1979 - November 1990), winning three consecutive general elections. To supporters she was a saviour who rescued Britain, and to critics she destroyed comity in favour of greed. She fermented an ideological polarisation in British politics, except for a brief moment of unity when Britain defeated Argentina in the Falklands in 1982, restoring national pride that had flagged in the years after World War II and the dissolution of the British empire. This victory salvaged her from almost certain defeat due to the unemployment and hardships caused by her economic policies. Security of her tenure benefitted from a divided and poorly led Labour Party, but she even divided her own Conservative party to the point where she was finally pushed out.