LONDON — Margaret Thatcher, the former U.K. prime minister who helped end the Cold War and was known as the "Iron Lady" for her uncompromising style, died Monday. She was 87.
Thatcher suffered a stroke this morning and died peacefully, her spokesman, Tim Bell, said on Sky News television.
When Thatcher's Conservative Party took office in 1979, Britain's trade unions were strong enough to knock out party leaders they opposed, and key industries, including utilities, were state-owned. By the time she stepped down 11 years later, her arguments for free-market economics, lower taxes and deregulated financial markets had been adopted across the nation's political spectrum.
The transition was painful. Unemployment peaked at more than 3 million in the mid-1980s, and many places in the north of the country that had been world centers of manufacturing struggled to adapt to the new service economy.
Thatcher will be given a ceremonial funeral with military honors, to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement. A similar funeral was held for the Queen Mother in 2002. No date was announced.
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Milestones in Thatcher's life and career
Oct. 13, 1925: Born at Grantham, central England.
June 1947: Graduates from Oxford with a chemistry degree.
Dec. 13, 1951: Marries Denis Thatcher, a wealthy oil executive.
Aug. 15, 1953: Gives birth to twins, Mark and Carol.
June 1, 1954: Qualifies as a lawyer.
Oct. 8, 1959: Elected to Parliament.
June 20, 1970: Becomes education secretary.
Feb. 11, 1975: Elected leader of the Conservative Party.
May 3, 1979: Wins national elections, becomes prime minister.
June 9, 1983: Wins second term.
June 11, 1987: Wins third term.
Jan. 3, 1988: Becomes Britain's longest continuously serving prime minister of 20th century.
Nov. 22, 1990: Announces resignation after party revolt.
Nov. 28, 1990: John Major succeeds her as prime minister.
June 26, 1992: Becomes Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, a member of the unelected House of Lords with a lifetime title.
March 22, 2002: Ends public speaking after suffering a series of small strokes.
June 26, 2003: Her husband, Sir Denis Thatcher, dies.
April 8, 2013: Dies of stroke.