Margaret Thatcher, who died April 8, justifiably earned the nickname “The Iron Lady” as she became one of Britain’s great prime ministers. Serving from 1979 to 1990, she re-energized Britain’s long-sick economy, established a model of “conviction politics” and, with Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, helped end the Soviet Empire.

Consider that amid current woes, Britain is far from the vanquished nation it often seemed to be in the late 1970s. Margaret Thatcher, who became Baroness Thatcher, is far and away the towering figure of British politics of the past half century.

Entering No. 10 Downing St. as leader of a Conservative Party long dominated by “wets” who had largely conceded on policy to the Labor Party, she helped reverse Britain’s economic decline by free-marketfriendly policies. Besides her Cold War courage, she also defended democracy and self-determination by defeating the Argentine dictatorship after it invaded the Falklands Islands, in 1982.

Few would have imagined a grocer’s daughter running Britain, let alone having the gumption to confront longstanding bipartisan orthodoxy in domestic and foreign policy at a time of crisis in both realms, to become Britain’s longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century.

She stood toe to toe with labor unions, whose arrogant power was paralyzing the country, and she mostly won. She also braved the brickbats of many for slowing the growth of public spending. But vilified for “slashing” the budget, she actually hiked it by a total of 12.9 percent in inflation adjusted terms from 1979 to 1990, with most social expenditures rising strongly and defense expenditures falling slightly in that period.

Meanwhile, her eloquent love of freedom and democracy, and willingness to show force against tyranny, made her the dominant Western leader, with Reagan, during her time in power.

Thatcher did not usually seem to pride herself on her accomplishments as a woman per se, but the world was well aware of her astonishing career.

She showed how the intelligence, ambition, courage and persistence of someone from a modest background can change the world.

— The Providence (R.I.) Journal