London: World leaders have paid tribute to former Conservative British prime minister Margaret Thatcher who has died this morning following a stroke.The Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported.
Known as the “Iron Lady”, Baroness Thatcher, who dominated British politics for two decades, was aged 87.
US president Barack Obama has led tributes from world leaders to Margaret Thatcher, saying: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”
President Michael D Higgins said Mrs Thatcher’s place in history has been secured. “She will be remembered as one of the most conviction-driven British prime ministers who drew on a scholarship that demanded markets without regulation,” Mr Higgins said.
Britain’s only woman prime minister, the tough, outspoken leader led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990 – which was the longest continuous period in office on the part of a British prime minister since the early 19th century.
Thatcher died peacefully on Monday morning, said Lord Tim Bell, a spokesman for the Thatcher family.”It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning,” Lord Bell said.
A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she became loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions, adopted a hard line against republicanism in Northern Ireland and privatised vast swathes of British industry.
Ceremonial funeral
Thatcher will be given a ceremonial funeral with military honors, British prime minister David Cameron’s office said in a statement .
Her final journey will take her from Parliament in Westminster to St. Paul’s Cathedral, in an event that will fall just one step short of a full state funeral.State funerals are generally reserved for monarchs, though they differ little. The last non-royal to receive a state funeral was Winston Churchill, in recognition of his leadership as Britain’s prime minister during World War II.
It is understood that Thatcher had been consulted on the details of the service, which is expected to reflect her love of Elgar. There will be no public lying in state at her request, it is understood.
Tributes
Queen Elizabeth II has led tributes in Britain to the nation’s only female prime minister.The Queen been saddened by the death of Baroness Thatcher, Buckingham Palace said today.In a statement on the Downing Street Twitter feed, British prime minister David Cameron said: “It was with great sadness that I learned of Lady Thatcher’s death. “We’ve lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton.” Current UK Labour leader Ed Miliband said: “I send my deep condolences to Lady Thatcher’s family, in particular Mark and Carol Thatcher.”
