Editing Margaret Thatcher (section)

===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>