Editing Margaret Thatcher (section)

==Later life==

=== Return to backbenches (1990–1992) ===
After leaving the premiership, Thatcher returned to the backbenches as a constituency parliamentarian.{{sfnp|Reitan|2003|p=118}} Her domestic approval rating recovered after her resignation, though public opinion remained divided on whether her government had been good for the country.{{sfnp|Crewe|1991}}<ref name="Ipsos">{{Cite web |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) |url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722003205/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/margaret-thatcher-1925-2013 |archive-date=22 July 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=[[Ipsos MORI]] |quote=At the time of her resignation [...] 52% of the public said that they thought her government had been good for the country and 40% that it had been bad.}}</ref> Aged 66, she retired from the House of Commons at the 1992 general election, saying that leaving the Commons would allow her more freedom to speak her mind.<ref name="lords">{{Cite news |title=30 June 1992: Thatcher takes her place in Lords |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_2523000/2523395.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130818/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_2523000/2523395.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=On This Day 1950–2005 |via=BBC News Online}}</ref>

===Post-Commons (1992–2003)===
On leaving the Commons, Thatcher became the first former British prime minister to set up a foundation;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thatcher Archive |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/thatcher-archive.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926225828/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/thatcher-archive.asp |archive-date=26 September 2013 |access-date=26 August 2013 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> the British wing of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation was dissolved in 2005 due to financial difficulties.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barkham |first=Patrick |date=11 May 2005 |title=End of an era for Thatcher foundation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/11/conservatives.politics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928211215/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/11/conservatives.politics |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=27 April 2013 |work=The Guardian |quote=Mystery surrounds the future of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation after it emerged that the British wing of the high-profile organisation set up by the former prime minister in 1991 was formally dissolved at Companies House two days before the general election.}}</ref> She wrote two volumes of memoirs, ''[[The Downing Street Years]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Path to Power (Thatcher book)|The Path to Power]]'' (1995). In 1991, she and her husband Denis moved to a house in [[Chester Square]], a residential garden square in central London's [[Belgravia]] district.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Matthew |date=9 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's estate still a family secret |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-estate-family-secret |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928211300/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-estate-family-secret |archive-date=28 September 2013 |access-date=14 April 2013 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Thatcher was hired by the tobacco company [[Altria|Philip Morris]] as a "geopolitical consultant" in July 1992 for $250,000 per year and an annual contribution of $250,000 to her foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 July 1992 |title=Tobacco Company Hires Margaret Thatcher as Consultant |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-19-mn-4763-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630132953/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-19/news/mn-4763_1_margaret-thatcher |archive-date=30 June 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Thatcher earned $50,000 for each speech she delivered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=John |author-link=John Harris (critic) |date=3 February 2007 |title=Into the void |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/03/past.conservatives?INTCMP=SRCH |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225054519/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/03/past.conservatives?INTCMP=SRCH |archive-date=25 December 2013 |access-date=16 January 2011 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Thatcher became an advocate of [[Independence of Croatia|Croatian]] and [[Independence of Slovenia|Slovenian]] independence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 December 1991 |title=TV Interview for HRT (Croatian radiotelevision) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111358 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701055009/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111358 |archive-date=1 July 2011 |access-date=21 March 2011 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> Commenting on the [[Yugoslav Wars]], in a 1991 interview for [[Croatian Radiotelevision]], she was critical of Western governments for not recognising the breakaway republics of Croatia and Slovenia as independent and for not supplying them with arms after the Serbian-led [[Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslav Army]] attacked.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitney |first=Craig R. |date=24 November 1991 |title=Thatcher Close to Break With Her Replacement |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5D7123DF937A15752C1A967958260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173134/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/world/thatcher-close-to-break-with-her-replacement.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=21 March 2011 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In August 1992, she called for NATO to stop the Serbian assault on [[Goražde]] and [[Sarajevo]] to end [[ethnic cleansing]] during the [[Bosnian War]], comparing the [[Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War|situation in Bosnia–Herzegovina]] to "the [[Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism|barbarities of Hitler's and Stalin's]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |date=6 August 1992 |title=Stop the Excuses. Help Bosnia Now |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DE1731F935A3575BC0A964958260&sec=&spon= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173132/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/06/opinion/stop-the-excuses-help-bosnia-now.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=2 December 2007 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

She made a series of speeches in the Lords criticising the [[Maastricht Treaty]],{{r|lords}} describing it as "a treaty too far" and stated: "I could never have signed this treaty."<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 June 1993 |title=House of Lords European Communities (Amendment) Bill Speech |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108314 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513085456/http://margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108314 |archive-date=13 May 2012 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> She cited [[A. V. Dicey]] when arguing that, as all three main parties were in favour of the treaty, the people should have their say in a referendum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 1991 |title=House of Commons European Community debate |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108291 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195136/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108291 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

Thatcher served as honorary [[chancellor of the College of William & Mary]] in Virginia from 1993 to 2000,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chancellor's Robe |url=http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/robe/index.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119054532/http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/robe/index.php |archive-date=19 January 2012 |access-date=18 January 2010 |publisher=College of William & Mary}}</ref> while also serving as chancellor of the private [[University of Buckingham]] from 1992 to 1998,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oulton |first=Charles |date=1 October 1992 |title=Thatcher installed as chancellor of private university |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/thatcher-installed-as-chancellor-of-private-university-charles-oulton-reports-on-a-day-of-mixed-emotions-for-the-former-prime-minister-1554652.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128210133/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/thatcher-installed-as-chancellor-of-private-university-charles-oulton-reports-on-a-day-of-mixed-emotions-for-the-former-prime-minister-1554652.html |archive-date=28 January 2012 |access-date=12 January 2010 |work=The Independent}}</ref><ref name="Kealey">{{Cite web |last=Kealey |first=Terence |author-link=Terence Kealey |date=8 April 2013 |title=University mourns death of Lady Thatcher |url=https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/latest-news/university-mourns-death-of-lady-thatcher |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819022057/https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/latest-news/university-mourns-death-of-lady-thatcher |archive-date=19 August 2013 |access-date=25 May 2017 |publisher=University of Buckingham}}</ref> a university she had formally opened in 1976 as the former education secretary.{{r|Kealey}}

After [[Tony Blair]]'s [[1994 Labour Party leadership election|election as Labour Party leader]] in 1994, Thatcher praised Blair as "probably the most formidable [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Labour leader]] since [[Hugh Gaitskell]]", adding: "I see a lot of socialism behind their front bench, but not in Mr Blair. I think he genuinely has moved."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Castle |first=Stephen |date=28 May 1995 |title=Thatcher praises 'formidable' Blair |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/thatcher-praises-formidable-blair-1621354.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232439/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/thatcher-praises-formidable-blair-1621354.html |archive-date=28 December 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |work=The Independent}}</ref> Blair responded in kind: "She was a thoroughly determined person, and that is an admirable quality."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woodward |first=Robert |author-link=Bob Woodward |date=15 March 1997 |title=Thatcher seen closer to Blair than Major |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaZNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6603%2C5897694 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173046/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gaZNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6603%2C5897694 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=The Nation |location=London, UK |agency=Reuters}}</ref>

In 1998, Thatcher called for the release of former Chilean dictator [[Augusto Pinochet]] when [[Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet|Spain had him arrested]] and sought to try him for human rights violations. She cited the help he gave Britain during the Falklands War.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 October 1998 |title=Pinochet&nbsp;– Thatcher's ally |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/198604.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110132525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/198604.stm |archive-date=10 November 2011 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> In 1999, she visited him while he was under house arrest near London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 March 1999 |title=Thatcher stands by Pinochet |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/304516.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217081915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/304516.stm |archive-date=17 February 2010 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Pinochet was released in March 2000 on medical grounds by Home Secretary [[Jack Straw]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 March 2000 |title=Pinochet set free |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016002953/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/663170.stm |archive-date=16 October 2009 |access-date=15 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

[[File:Margaret Thatcher.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Thatcher in a red coat, standing in the Vehicle Assembly Building|Touring the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in 2001]]
At the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]], Thatcher supported the Conservative campaign, as she had done in 1992 and 1997, and in the [[2001 Conservative Party leadership election|Conservative leadership election]] following its defeat, she endorsed [[Iain Duncan Smith]] over [[Kenneth Clarke]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 August 2001 |title=Letter supporting Iain Duncan Smith for the Conservative leadership published in the ''Daily Telegraph'' |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108390 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218065601/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=108390 |archive-date=18 February 2012 |access-date=9 April 2007 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref> In 2002 she encouraged [[George W. Bush]] to aggressively tackle the "unfinished business" of Iraq under Saddam Hussein,<ref name="Thatcher NYT">{{Cite news |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |date=11 February 2002 |title=Advice to a Superpower |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/11THAT.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016012202/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/11THAT.html |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=11 October 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and praised Blair for his "strong, bold leadership" in standing with Bush in the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Thatcher Blair Iraq">{{Cite news |last=Harnden |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Harnden |date=11 December 2002 |title=Thatcher praises Blair for standing firm with US on Iraq |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1415788/Thatcher-praises-Blair-for-standing-firm-with-US-on-Iraq.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210913173639/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1415788/Thatcher-praises-Blair-for-standing-firm-with-US-on-Iraq.html |archive-date=13 September 2021 |access-date=11 October 2015 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

Thatcher broached the same subject in her ''[[Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World]]'', which was published in April 2002 and dedicated to Ronald Reagan, writing that there would be no peace in the Middle East until [[Saddam]] was toppled. Her book also said that Israel must trade [[land for peace]] and that the European Union (EU) was a "fundamentally unreformable", "classic utopian project, a monument to the vanity of intellectuals, a programme whose inevitable destiny is failure".{{sfnp|Glover|Economides|2010|page=20}} She argued that Britain should renegotiate its terms of membership or else [[Brexit|leave the EU]] and join the [[North American Free Trade Area]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wintour |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Wintour |date=18 March 2002 |title=Britain must quit EU, says Thatcher |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/mar/18/uk.eu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213313/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/mar/18/uk.eu |archive-date=12 May 2014 |access-date=8 May 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

Following several small strokes, her doctors advised her not to engage in further public speaking.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Statement from the office of the Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher LG OM FRS |date=22 March 2002 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305 |access-date=9 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007032938/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=109305 |archive-date=7 October 2008}}</ref> In March 2002 she announced that, on doctors' advice, she would cancel all planned speaking engagements and accept no more.{{sfnp|Campbell|2003|pp=796–798}}

{{quote box
 |title  = Extract from ''[[The Downing Street Years]]''
 |quote  = <q>Being Prime Minister is a lonely job. In a sense, it ought to be: you cannot lead from the crowd. But with Denis there I was never alone. What a man. What a husband. What a friend.</q>
 |author = {{harvtxt|Thatcher|1993|p=23}}
 |align  = right
 |salign = right
 |width  = 25em
 |bgcolor= whitesmoke
}}

On 26&nbsp;June 2003, Thatcher's husband, Sir Denis, died aged 88;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tempest |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Tempest |date=26 June 2003 |title=Sir Denis Thatcher dies aged 88 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jun/26/obituaries.politics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808194009/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jun/26/obituaries.politics |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=8 August 2017 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> his body was cremated on 3&nbsp;July at [[Mortlake Crematorium]] in London.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 July 2003 |title=Lady Thatcher bids Denis farewell |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3041546.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808195919/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3041546.stm |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=20 January 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Final years (2003–2013)===
[[File:Margaret Thatcher DF-SD-06-15534.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|alt=Thatcher exiting a limousine on the ramp at Andrews Air Force Base|Arriving for the funeral of President Reagan in 2004]]
On 11&nbsp;June 2004, Thatcher (against doctors' orders) attended the [[Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan|state funeral service for Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 June 2004 |title=Thatcher: 'Reagan's life was providential' |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109022946/http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/11/thatcher.transcript/ |archive-date=9 November 2017 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> She delivered her eulogy via videotape; in view of her health, the message had been pre-recorded several months earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 June 2004 |title=Thatcher's final visit to Reagan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330090938/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3793565.stm |archive-date=30 March 2012 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Alec |author-link1=Alec Russell |last2=Sparrow |first2=Andrew |name-list-style=amp |date=7 June 2004 |title=Thatcher's taped eulogy at Reagan funeral |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1463874/Thatchers-taped-eulogy-at-Reagan-funeral.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707040239/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1463874/Thatchers-taped-eulogy-at-Reagan-funeral.html |archive-date=7 July 2016 |access-date=18 July 2016 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Thatcher flew to California with the Reagan entourage, and attended the memorial service and interment ceremony for the president at the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 2004 |title=Private burial for Ronald Reagan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3800315.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016022432/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3800315.stm |archive-date=16 October 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

In 2005, Thatcher criticised how Blair had decided to [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invade Iraq]] two years previously. Although she still supported the intervention to topple Saddam Hussein, she said that (as a scientist) she would always look for "facts, evidence and proof" before committing the armed forces.{{r|grice}} She celebrated her 80th birthday on 13&nbsp;October at the [[Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London|Mandarin Oriental Hotel]] in [[Hyde Park, London]]; guests included the Queen, the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]], [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]] and Tony Blair.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 October 2005 |title=Thatcher marks 80th with a speech |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4329132.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208082439/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4329132.stm |archive-date=8 February 2009 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref> [[Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon]], was also in attendance and said of his former leader: "Her real triumph was to have transformed not just one party but two, so that when Labour did eventually return, the great bulk of Thatcherism was accepted as irreversible."<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 October 2005 |title=Birthday tributes to Thatcher |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4337404.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112154711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4337404.stm |archive-date=12 November 2006 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

{{multiple image
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|title=In the US, 2006
|image1=Thatcher 2006 September 11 event.jpg
|alt1=Thatcher standing with Dick and Lynne Cheney
|caption1=Thatcher (''left''{{--)}} at a Washington memorial service on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
|image2=Margaret Thatcher 060912-F-0193C-006.jpg
|alt2=Thatcher sharing a laugh with Donald Rumsfeld and Peter Pace
|caption2=With [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and [[General&nbsp;Pace]] at the Pentagon
}}
In 2006, Thatcher attended the [[Patriot Day|official Washington memorial service]] to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the [[9/11 attacks]] on the US. She was a guest of Vice&nbsp;President [[Dick Cheney]] and met Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]] during her visit.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 September 2006 |title=9/11 Remembrance Honors Victims from More Than 90 Countries |url=http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922193936/http://montevideo.usembassy.gov/usaweb/paginas/2006/06-334EN.shtml |archive-date=22 September 2006 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=US Department of State}}</ref> In February 2007 Thatcher became the first living British prime minister to be honoured with [[Statue of Margaret Thatcher (Palace of Westminster)|a statue]] in the [[Houses of Parliament]]. The bronze statue stood opposite [[Statue of Winston Churchill, Palace of Westminster|that of her political hero, Winston Churchill]],{{r|bronze}} and was unveiled on 21&nbsp;February 2007 with Thatcher in attendance; she remarked in the [[Members' Lobby]] of the Commons: "I might have preferred iron – but bronze will do [...] It won't rust."<ref name="bronze">{{Cite news |date=21 February 2007 |title=Iron Lady is honoured in bronze |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6384029.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307201021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6384029.stm |archive-date=7 March 2009 |access-date=9 April 2007 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Thatcher was a public supporter of the [[Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism]] and the resulting Prague Process and sent a public letter of support to its preceding conference.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism |date=9 June 2008 |publisher=[[Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation]] |url=http://www.victimsofcommunism.org/media/article.php?article=3850 |access-date=24 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518124148/http://victimsofcommunism.org/media/article.php?article=3850 |archive-date=18 May 2011}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2024}}

After collapsing at a [[House of Lords]] dinner, Thatcher, suffering [[low blood pressure]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Charles |date=9 March 2008 |title=Thatcher risks becoming a national treasure |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581197/Thatcher-risks-becoming-a-national-treasure.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135223/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581197/Thatcher-risks-becoming-a-national-treasure.html |archive-date=20 October 2017 |access-date=31 May 2017 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> was admitted to [[St&nbsp;Thomas' Hospital]] in central London on 7&nbsp;March 2008 for tests. In 2009 she was hospitalised again when she fell and broke her arm.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 2009 |title=Lady Thatcher treated after fall |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8097018.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8097018.stm |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=20 April 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Thatcher returned to 10 Downing Street in late November 2009 for the unveiling of [[Portrait of Margaret Thatcher|an official portrait]] by artist [[Richard Stone (painter)|Richard Stone]],<ref name="ThatcherReturns">{{Cite news |date=23 November 2009 |title=Margaret Thatcher returns to Downing Street |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6636644/Margaret-Thatcher-returns-to-Downing-Street.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126182445/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/margaret-thatcher/6636644/Margaret-Thatcher-returns-to-Downing-Street.html |archive-date=26 November 2009 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> an unusual honour for a living former prime minister. Stone was previously commissioned to paint portraits of the Queen and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]].{{r|ThatcherReturns}}

On 4&nbsp;July 2011, Thatcher was to attend a ceremony for the unveiling of a {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} statue of Ronald Reagan outside the [[US embassy in London]], but was unable to attend due to her frail health.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 2011 |title=Ronald Reagan statue unveiled at US Embassy in London |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14009137 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215743/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14009137 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref> She last attended a sitting of the House of Lords on 19&nbsp;July 2010,{{sfnp|''Journals of the House of Lords''|2012|ps=, <q>Thatcher, B.</q>}} and on 30&nbsp;July 2011 it was announced that her office in the Lords had been closed.<ref name=telegraph8671195>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Tim |date=30 July 2011 |title=Baroness Thatcher's office is closed |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8671195/Baroness-Thatchers-office-is-closed.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731185910/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8671195/Baroness-Thatchers-office-is-closed.html |archive-date=31 July 2011 |access-date=21 August 2011 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Earlier that month, Thatcher was named the most competent prime minister of the past 30 years in an [[Ipsos MORI]] poll.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stacey |first=Kiran |date=3 July 2011 |title=Thatcher heads poll of most competent PMs |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4e23a0c-a3f9-11e0-8b4f-00144feabdc0.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712002740/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d4e23a0c-a3f9-11e0-8b4f-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=12 July 2012 |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>

Thatcher's daughter Carol [[n:Margaret Thatcher suffering from dementia, says daughter|first revealed]] that her mother had [[dementia]] in 2005,{{r|Langley}} saying "Mum doesn't read much any more because of her memory loss". In her 2008 memoir, Carol wrote that her mother "could hardly remember the beginning of a sentence by the time she got to the end".<ref name="Langley">{{Cite news |last=Langley |first=William |date=30 August 2008 |title=Carol Thatcher, daughter of the revolution |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112112840/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html |archive-date=12 November 2012 |access-date=11 February 2013 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> She later recounted how she was first struck by her mother's dementia when, in conversation, Thatcher confused the Falklands and Yugoslav conflicts; she recalled the pain of needing to tell her mother repeatedly that her husband Denis was dead.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elliott |first=Francis |date=25 August 2008 |title=Margaret Thatcher's struggle with dementia revealed in daughter's memoir |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111317 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531035605/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111317 |archive-date=31 May 2017 |access-date=7 July 2017 |work=[[The Times]] |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref>

===Death and funeral (2013)===
{{Main|Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher}}
{{multiple image
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|image1=Margaret Thatcher coffin at St. Pauls X8A2604.jpg
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|caption1=Thatcher's coffin being carried up the steps of [[St&nbsp;Paul's Cathedral]]
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|caption2=Plaques on the graves of Margaret and Denis Thatcher at the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]
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<!--Please add tributes from around the world to [[Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher#Reactions]] rather than this article-->
Thatcher died on 8&nbsp;April 2013, at the age of 87, after suffering a stroke. She had been staying at a suite in [[The Ritz Hotel, London|the Ritz Hotel]] in London since December 2012 after having difficulty with stairs at her Chester Square home in Belgravia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swinford |first=Steven |date=8 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: final moments in hotel without her family by her bedside |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980269/Margaret-Thatcher-final-moments-in-hotel-without-her-family-by-her-bedside.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130113809/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980269/Margaret-Thatcher-final-moments-in-hotel-without-her-family-by-her-bedside.html |archive-date=30 November 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Her death certificate listed the primary causes of death as a "cerebrovascular accident" and "repeated [[transient ischaemic attack]]";<ref name="Mason">{{Cite news |last=Mason |first=Rowena |date=16 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher described as 'retired stateswoman' on death certificate |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9997368/Margaret-Thatcher-described-as-retired-stateswoman-on-death-certificate.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419013555/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9997368/Margaret-Thatcher-described-as-retired-stateswoman-on-death-certificate.html |archive-date=19 April 2013 |access-date=11 January 2021 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> secondary causes were listed as a "[[carcinoma]] of the bladder" and dementia.{{r|Mason}}

[[q:Death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher|Reactions to the news of Thatcher's death]] were mixed across the UK, ranging from tributes lauding her as Britain's greatest-ever peacetime prime minister to public celebrations of her death and expressions of hatred and personalised vitriol.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Burns |first1=John F. |author-link1=John Fisher Burns |last2=Cowell |first2=Alan |author-link2=Alan Cowell |name-list-style=amp |date=10 April 2013 |title=Parliament Debates Thatcher Legacy, as Vitriol Flows Online and in Streets |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/europe/british-lawmakers-margaret-thatcher-legacy.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420131956/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/world/europe/british-lawmakers-margaret-thatcher-legacy.html |archive-date=20 April 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Details of Thatcher's funeral had been agreed upon with her in advance.<ref name="Independent, 12 April 2013">{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Oliver |date=8 April 2013 |title=Funeral will be a 'ceremonial' service in line with Baroness Thatcher's wishes |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/funeral-will-be-a-ceremonial-service-in-line-with-baroness-thatchers-wishes-8565093.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412095123/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/funeral-will-be-a-ceremonial-service-in-line-with-baroness-thatchers-wishes-8565093.html |archive-date=12 April 2013 |access-date=12 April 2013 |work=The Independent}}</ref> She received a [[ceremonial funeral]], including full military honours, with a church service at [[St&nbsp;Paul's Cathedral]] on 17&nbsp;April.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2013 |title=Ex-Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher dies, aged 87 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031074659/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="BBC News, 9 April 2013">{{Cite news |date=9 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher funeral set for next week |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079749 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021081324/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22079749 |archive-date=21 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II and the Duke of Edinburgh attended her funeral,<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 April 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22177366 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504194758/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22177366 |archive-date=4 May 2013 |access-date=4 May 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> marking only the second and final time in the Queen's reign that she attended the funeral of any of [[List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II|her former prime ministers]], after [[Death and state funeral of Winston Churchill|that of Churchill]], who received a [[state funeral]] in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |date=10 April 2013 |title=Queen made personal decision to attend Lady Thatcher's funeral |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/10/queen-decision-lady-thatcher-funeral |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109155827/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/10/queen-decision-lady-thatcher-funeral |archive-date=9 November 2013 |access-date=3 May 2013 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

After the service at St&nbsp;Paul's, Thatcher's body was cremated at Mortlake, where her husband's had been cremated. On 28&nbsp;September, a service for Thatcher was held in the All Saints Chapel of the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]]'s Margaret Thatcher Infirmary. In a private ceremony, Thatcher's ashes were interred in the hospital's grounds, next to her husband's.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 September 2013 |title=Baroness Thatcher's ashes laid to rest |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10341402/Baroness-Thatchers-ashes-laid-to-rest.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413185023/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/10341402/Baroness-Thatchers-ashes-laid-to-rest.html |archive-date=13 April 2019 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref name="BBC-intere">{{Cite news |date=28 September 2013 |title=Margaret Thatcher's ashes laid to rest at Royal Hospital Chelsea |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24316701 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924105909/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24316701 |archive-date=24 September 2017 |access-date=22 October 2020 |work=BBC News}}</ref>