Margaret Thatcher and Political Leadership
Political leadership involves many attributes. It often includes a power relationship, a capacity to persuade, as well as intuitive tactical and strategic skills. However political leadership is also framed by an individual's particular emotional and psychological development.
Margaret Thatcher grew up in a small apartment on the top floor of her father's grocery. She entered the political arena at an early age, coaxed along by her father. She often took notes at her father's political meetings, helped out in local election campaigns and worked at Conservative Party headquarters whenever she could (Harris, 1988, p.44). Thatcher was 14 when World War II began, and she immediately plunged into patriotic service and continual support for the policies of Winston Churchill.
Thatcher began her undergraduate studies at Somerville College Oxford in 1943. She entered as a reader in Chemistry and quickly became involved in religious and political activities. By 1949 she had become the youngest candidate to be considered for a Party seat, and the only woman (Dahl and Neubauer, 1968). In terms of political leadership, Margaret Thatcher is most often considered as more like Ronald Reagan than any other political figure of her era. The two were considered to be tough minded Cold Warriors with conservative domestic fiscal policies. Margaret Thatcher was the Iron Lady to Ronald Reagan's John Wayne like presidential figure. Unlike Reagan, however, Thatcher continued to exert influence long after she left her position as Prime Minister.
Although Margaret Thatcher had long been involved in politics, it was not until the 1979 election that she made a larger impression on the country and the world scene. She had replaced Heath after the Conservatives lost the 1974 elections, but she was not a very charismatic leader or strong in those early years. What is interesting about her ascen...