Iron Lady—Margaret Thatcher
铁娘子——玛格丽特·撒切尔
Iron Lady is a nickname that has frequently been used to describe female heads of government around the world. The term describes a “strong willed” woman. This iron metaphor was most famously applied to Margaret Thatcher， nicknamed so in 1976 by the Soviet media for her staunch opposition to communism.
She was the catalyst who set in motion a series of interconnected events that gave a revolutionary twist to the century's last two decades and helped mankind end the millennium on a note of hope and confidence. The triumph of capitalism， the almost universal acceptance of the market as indispensable to prosperity， the collapse of Soviet imperialism， the downsizing of the state on nearly every continent and in almost every country in the world—Margaret Thatcher played a part in all those transformations， and it is not easy to see how many would have occurred without her.
Born in 1925， Margaret Hilda Roberts was an enormously industrious girl. The daughter of a Grantham shopkeeper， she studied on scholarship， worked her way to Oxford and took two degrees， in chemistry and law. Her fascination with politics led her into Parliament at age 34， when she argued her way into one of the best Tory seats in the country， Finchley in north London. Her quick mind (and faster mouth) led her up through the Tory ranks， and by age 44 she got settled into the “statutory woman's” place in the Cabinet as Education Minister， and that looked like the summit of her career. But Thatcher was， and is， notoriously lucky. In 1975 she challenged Edward Heath for the Tory leadership simply because the candidate of the party's right wing abandoned the contest at the last minute. When she went into Heath's office to tell him her decision， he did not even bother to look up. “You'll lose，” he said， “Good day to you.”
Margaret was serious iron during her reign as Prime Minister. She brought down national institutions such as out-of-control unions and she set about privatizing the nationalized industries. However， by the end of the 1980s， more than 50 countries had adopted Thatcher's privatization policy. Even left wing countries began to reduce their public sector secretively.
Margaret Thatcher will not just be remembered in history as a political figure. With her combined willpower and her feminity， it was evident she would attract universal attention and begin a new historical epoch. The world enters the 21st century—a wiser place， owing in no small part to the daughter of a shopkeeper， who proved that nothing is more effective than determination allied to a few， clear， simple and workable ideas.
人们通常会用“铁娘子”这个称谓来形容世界上的女性领导者、意志坚定的女性。如今铁娘子这个称呼几乎专门用在玛格丽特·撒切尔身上，这源于1976年苏联媒体称她是共产主义百年不变的死对头。
从二十世纪八十年代开始，一场盘根错节的革命运动风起云涌，她——玛格丽特·撒切尔就是这场变革的推动者之一。她带领全人类结束上个世纪，以满怀期望和自信的态度迎接新千年。资本主义成功运作，全世界几乎都认识到市场调控是国家经济繁荣的必要条件。苏联解体，政权规模无论在哪个大洲哪个国家都在缩小。在这场变革中都少不了撒切尔的身影，很难想象当初若她没参与其中，现在这个世界又会是什么样子？
1925年玛格丽特·希尔达·罗伯特生于英格兰林肯郡格兰瑟姆市。父亲是一名零售商。玛格丽特从小勤奋好学，先后在牛津大学获得化学及法律两个学位。她对政治一直充满兴趣，34岁那年步入政坛，进入下议院。在伦敦北部芬赤力选区，她获得保守党中的最佳席位。玛格丽特凭借自己敏锐的头脑，犀利的言辞一步步升到保守党的最高位置。在44岁那年，她任教育大臣，获得保守党法定发言人席位。在当时看来，撒切尔的职业生涯似乎已经达到了顶峰。然而，玛格丽特·撒切尔职场极顺！1975年竞选保守党领袖时，保守党右翼势力候选人在最后时刻弃权，撒切尔战胜爱德华·希思，当选保守党主席。想当初玛格丽特走进希思办公室告诉他，她要参选时，希思头也不抬地对她说，“嗯，好吧。不过你肯定赢不了的！”
玛格丽特在任英国首相期间采取强硬政策。她限制工会力量，取缔那些失控组织；广泛推行国有工业私有化。然而，在20世纪80年代末期，全球就有50多个国家采取了撒切尔的私有化政策，就连一些左翼国家都在悄无声息地减少公有制成分。
在历史的长河中，玛格丽特·撒切尔绝不仅仅是位政治风云人物。她意志坚定，独具魅力，举世瞩目，开辟出了历史的新纪元。步入21世纪，全世界依然到处留有这位零售商之女的影响痕迹。她用自己的亲身经历证明，简约、灵活的思想意识若能以一份坚定的意志作后盾，它便所向无敌。
译者感言
纵观玛格丽特·撒切尔的一生，作为英国保守党政治家和首相(1979-1990)，也是欧洲历史上第一位女首相。在1987年保守党赢得大选后，她成为英国在20世纪连任三届的首相，在她辞职时成为1827年以后英国任期最长的首相。
在她整个任期内，她切实执行的政策使她获得“铁娘子”的称号。1984年12月，撒切尔夫人来华签署中英关于香港问题的联合声明。这也使她深为中国人了解。不仅如此，世界上其他国家的大部分人对撒切尔都非常尊重。尤其是在不少国家的女性心中，撒切尔是20世纪最杰出的女性，她证明了女人不但可以做到男人做的事，而且可以完成男人无法做到的事。
