Margaret Thatcher Quotes

Elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979, she was the first woman in European history to be elected to such a position.
(1925 - )

A country's wealth need not depend on natural resources, it may even ultimately benefit from their absence.

A man may climb Everest for himself, but at the summit he plants his country's flag.

A world without nuclear weapons may be a dream but you cannot base a sure defense on dreams. Without far greater trust and confidence between East and West than exists at present, a world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us. [History]

America, my friends, is the only country in the world actually founded on liberty--the only one. People went to America to be free.

Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country. [Politics]

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. [Being]

Being prime minister is a lonely job... you cannot lead from the crowd. [Being]

Constitutions have to be written on hearts, not just paper.

Defeat-I do not recognise the meaning of the word!

Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend. [History]

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and importance, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.

Economics are the method; the object is to change the heart and soul.

Europe will never be like America. Europe is a product of history. America is a product of philosophy. [America]

For every idealistic peacemaker willing to renounce his self-defence in favour of a weapons-free world, there is at least one warmaker anxious to exploit the other's good intentions.

For my part, I favour an approach to statecraft that embraces principles, as long as it is not stifled by them; and I prefer such principles to be accompanied by steel along with good intentions.

Good Conservatives always pay their bills. And on time. Not like the Socialists who run up other people's bills.

Human rights did not begin with the French Revolution...[they] really stem from a mixture of Judaism and Christianity...[we English] had 1688, our quiet revolution, where Parliament exerted its will over the King...it was not the sort of Revolution that France's was...'Liberty, equality, fraternity' - they forgot obligations and duties I think. And then of course the fraternity went missing for a long time.

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end. [Perseverance]

I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.