Margaret Thatcher is an essential and active historical agent who changed Britain economically by leading it out of the depression of 1973. Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925 and was First Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. (Evans, Eric 2004), As Prime Minister, he implemented policies that became known as Thatcherism. Thatcher's early life influenced and motivated her to become Prime Minister. Her family had little money when she was a child, they had no indoor plumbing or hot water, but her father believed strongly in education. He attended school and worked in his father's grocery store, which was located under his house. Margaret's father bought her as a Wesleyan Methodist, a separate Christian church, the ideology of helping the poor and the average person to help build them up as people. Margaret's father was active in local politics and was a part-time justice of the peace, where she often went with him to court. From here his interest in law and politics was born. And attending the Wesleyan Methodist Church he had a strong interest in helping others. She wanted to study law at university but her teacher told her there were no jobs for women in law, so she studied chemistry at Oxford University. From there she became president of the Conservative Association of Universities. (Parker, Janice 1998). At university he was influenced by politics... in the middle of the paper... it happened to lead to his downfall. They introduced the unpopular poll tax to fund local government. Margaret's leadership of the Conservative Party was challenged when she was abroad in 1990. To her surprise, she did not win outright on the first ballot of the leadership election. She realized that she would probably be defeated and resigned. Many believe that Margaret Thatcher significantly transformed Britain for the better and re-established it as an economic force, others believed that she damaged Britain's manufacturing base and created a divided society. She demonstrated by example that it is possible for a woman to reach the highest office in British politics and stay there. She was an essential and active historical agent who changed Britain economically by leading it out of the 1973 depression and became a role model for women in politics.