Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013

On May 4, 1979 when Margaret Hilda Thatcher (nee Roberts) became Prime Minister of Great Britain (actually there wasn’t much “great” about that country when she took office!), I was in the third year of secondary school; by November 28, 1990 when she left office, I had graduated from the University of Ife (as it was then known); attended the law school in Lagos (there was only one law school then!); completed my NYSC in Benin City, Bendel State (these newer states didn’t exist then!); had a short stint practicing law; and was about to leave (the older version of) First Bank for then new generation of Guaranty Trust Bank! In short, Margaret Thatcher by the time of her death on April 8, 2013 was very much a historical figure. There were already four prime ministerial successors after her-John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Margaret Thatcher was the first and so far only, female political leader of the United Kingdom, and irrespective of what you thought about her, after Thatcher, any doubts about the ability of females to lead became a nonsensical proposition! Before she became prime minister, Thatcher had already acquired a tough image, known as “the milk snatcher” for her role as the secretary of state for education and science who implemented a policy of abolishing free milk for school children aged 7-11. Cabinet papers reportedly later showed however that she actually opposed the policy, but was forced into it by the Treasury, one indicator perhaps that much of her public image was erroneous. A Soviet defence ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) called her “iron lady”, an appellation that stuck! It was not until I became at first a visiting lecturer and later held a faculty position as an academic, researcher and teacher in a business school, working in major aspects of political economy and business strategy that I fully appreciated Margaret Thatcher’s era as British Prime Minister. Essentially Thatcher redefined many aspects of global thinking about macroeconomic policy and management, development, privatization and public-private partnerships, deregulation and liberalization, regulation, financial markets and labour market flexibility. The fact that her bold and pioneering work in these areas was not based on academic postulations, but were actually executed (I would suggest successfully!) in a major OECD nation meant that most of the world followed her policy leadership. The fact that her ideas, which were implemented amidst much tumult and opposition in the UK have become mainstream thinking in today’s global political economy is a great testament to her vision and courage. The Britain that Thatcher inherited in 1979 was essentially almost ungovernable-powerful and often irrational unions; a damaging series of strikes, incompetent and inefficient state-owned utilities and corporations, racial tension and a country that in the views of many was sliding towards conditions seen in third world nations and requiring IMF support. Whether anyone accepts it or not, Thatcher reversed that slide and restored the UK’s place as a first world nation. Her policies had a monetarist theoretical foundation anchored on lower taxes, low inflation, limits on public spending (hence privatization), and financial sector deregulation. But there was a social cost to these policies, most notably in the resistance through the miners strikes of 1984, when Arthur Scargill’s National Union of Miners (NUM) proceeded on a long and costly strike which Thatcher deemed illegal. Margaret Thatcher formed a strong cold war alliance with the US Republicans led by her conservative soul mate, Ronald Reagan and together they confronted communism, ultimately ensuring the collapse of communism and the victory of western-style democracy and free market systems. The greatest error (and it was a grave one) attributed to Mrs Thatcher was her perceived tolerance and even support for the apartheid system in South Africa and her opposition to the African National Congress (ANC) and its leader, Nelson Mandela who she branded terrorists. It is a sad blight on her otherwise sterling record. The anti-colonialist, African mindset in me also sympathized with Argentine claims to the Falklands Islands, but victory in the Falklands war in 1982 significantly bolstered Thatcher’s leadership credentials and contributed to her re-election in 1983. She would win subsequent elections in 1987 and stay in office till for a total of eleven years. Her popularity would of course eventually wane-divisions over Europe, the unpopular poll tax, conservative disaffection etc, and Thatcher left office a bit disgruntled with her colleagues who she felt betrayed her. She became a member of parliament for Finchley in October 1959 and stayed on in parliament for two years after she left the prime ministerial office till April 1992. Born on October 13, 1925 in Grantham, England, she studied Chemistry and Law at Oxford University where she was a conservative activist. She had been Head Girl in secondary school in 1942-43, a sign perhaps of what was to come. She assumed leadership of the Tory Party in 1975 and was given a life peerage after she left office, becoming Baroness Thatcher. Her late husband, Dennis Thatcher was an important part of her success in politics and within the conservative movement. Margaret Thatcher always stood by her convictions, a trait that is rare in today’s world as weak men and women, who stand for nothing, assume and sustain leadership by doing whatever the polls say is popular!