Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the controversial "Iron Lady"
who dominated a generation of British politics and won international
acclaim for helping to end the Cold War, has died following a stroke.
She was 87.
Flowers
and mementos left by members of the public and admirers sit outside the
home of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in central
London on April 8th 2013. Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the
controversial "Iron Lady" who dominated a generation of British politics
and won international acclaim for helping to end the Cold War, has died
following a stroke. She was 87.
World leaders Monday
paid tribute to Britain's only woman premier, whose polarising 11 years
in office saw her take on trade unions, go to war in the Falklands and
wield her signature handbag against the European Union.
Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II said she was saddened by Thatcher's death as Prime
Minister David Cameron recalled parliament for a special tribute
session, while mining leaders and Irish republicans said she left a
disastrous legacy.
"Today we lost a great leader, great Prime
Minister and a great Briton. Margaret Thatcher didn't just lead our
country -- she saved our country," said a sombre Cameron, who cut short a
trip to European capitals and flew back to London after the news of her
death broke.
Her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Monday she had
"died peacefully following a stroke this morning." She was staying at
the Ritz Hotel in London when she died, he added.
Red white and
blue Union flags flew at half mast over Buckingham Palace, the Houses of
Parliament and the prime minister's Downing Street official residence,
while mourners left flowers outside Thatcher's house.
Britain
announced plans for a ceremonial funeral next week of the kind given to
Princess Diana, although it is a step short of a full state funeral
accorded to monarchs and World War II premier Winston Churchill.
Wearing
a black tie in a sign of mourning, Cameron said in a speech outside
Downing Street that "we can't deny that Margaret Thatcher divided
opinion", but hailed her "lion-hearted love of this country."
The former Conservative Party leader was the 20th century's longest continuous occupant of Downing Street from 1979 to 1990.
Right-wingers
hailed Thatcher as having hauled Britain out of the economic doldrums
but the left accused her of dismantling traditional industry and
destroying the fabric of society.
The once formidable Thatcher
suffered from dementia in recent years -- her illness becoming the
subject of a film starring Meryl Streep, who hailed her Monday as a
"pioneer for women".
Thatcher was told by doctors to quit public
speaking a decade ago after a series of minor strokes. She was last in
hospital in December for a minor operation to remove a growth from her
bladder.
On the world stage, Thatcher in the 1980s built a close
"special relationship" with US president Ronald Reagan which helped
bring the curtain down on Soviet Communism. She also fiercely opposed
closer political ties with Europe.
President Barack Obama said the
United States had lost a "true friend", and Russian leader Vladimir
Putin hailed her as a "brilliant political figure".
Former Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose good relations with Thatcher played a
part in ending the Cold War, said she would live on in "memory and in
history", while Helmut Kohl, the father of Germany's 1990 reunification,
praised her "love of freedom".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
called Thatcher an "extraordinary leader", and French President Francois
Hollande declared she had left a "profound mark" on Britain.
Two
former US presidents also remembered the legendary British premier, with
George H. W. Bush saying she was "a leader of rare character" and Bill
Clinton hailing her as an "iconic stateswoman" who lived a "remarkable
life".
Pope Francis praised Thatcher's "promotion of freedom" and said he was "saddened" by her passing.
Britain's
86-year-old queen, who shared weekly chats with Thatcher during her
time in power, was "sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness
Thatcher," Buckingham Palace said.
Thatcher will receive a
ceremonial funeral with military honours at St Paul's Cathedral in
central London some time next week, although the date has not been
confirmed, Downing Street said.
Her coffin will rest in the Houses
of Parliament the night before the funeral and will be taken through
the streets on a gun carriage to the cathedral.
British newspapers
reported that the former premier had herself requested not to receive a
state funeral, knowing that it would prove divisive.
The House of
Commons and House of Lords, the two chambers of parliament, will be
recalled on Wednesday so that lawmakers can pay tribute to Thatcher.
Reaction to her death was mixed in Britain.
But the coal miners' union defeated by Thatcher in the 1984-1985 strike issued a statement saying "good riddance".
In the south London neighbourhood of Brixton, sworn enemies of the former Iron Lady held a street party to celebrate the news.
Holding
placards saying "Rejoice -- Thatcher is dead", around 200 people
gathered in the neighbourhood, a hotspot of alternative culture, and
toasted her passing by drinking and dancing to hip-hop and reggae songs
blaring from sound systems.
Thatcher was born Margaret Hilda
Roberts on October 13, 1925 in the market town of Grantham, eastern
England, the daughter of a grocer.
After grammar school and a
degree in chemistry at Oxford University, she married businessman Denis
Thatcher in 1951 -- who died in 2003 -- and became the mother of twins,
Carol and Mark, in 1953.
She was first elected to the House of
Commons in 1959 and succeeded former prime minister Edward Heath as
opposition Conservative leader in 1975 before becoming premier four
years later.
Her enduring legacy can be summed up as "Thatcherism"
-- a set of policies which supporters say promoted personal freedom and
broke down the class divisions that had riven Britain for centuries.
Pushing her
policies through pitched Thatcher's government into a string of tough
battles, while she also had to deal with unexpected setbacks.
When
Argentina invaded the remote British territory of the Falkland Islands
in 1982, Thatcher dispatched troops and ships, securing victory in two
months.
In 1984 Thatcher survived an Irish Republican Army bombing at a hotel in Brighton.
Gerry
Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein republican party, said she had played a
"shameful role" in the troubles in Northern Ireland.