Who was the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?
Last updated: January 22, 2025
The United Kingdom had seen centuries of male leadership, with kings and prime ministers shaping its history through world wars, economic upheavals, and social transformations. By the late 1970s, British politics needed fresh perspectives and new solutions to old problems. Which woman would become the first to lead from 10 Downing Street?
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The answer is: Belmont
Margaret Thatcher became Britain's first female Prime Minister in 1979 and went on to become the longest-serving PM of the 20th century. Her journey through the glass ceiling started in a grocery store apartment where she lived as a child, watching her father run the shop while teaching her about careful spending and conservative values. She worked her way from that grocery store to Oxford University to Parliament.
The Parliament of the 1950s was still very much a men's club. When women first entered the ranks of Parliament in 1919, Winston Churchill had reportedly compared it to being walked in on in the bathroom. By the time Thatcher arrived in 1959, women MPs were still rare enough that she stood out in every debate and committee meeting.
Her unwavering positions on everything from unions to foreign policy helped Thatcher quickly climbed the political ladder, becoming a parliamentary secretary in 1961 and leader of the Conservative party in 1975. The following year is when she earned the nickname "The Iron Lady" from the Soviet press, and she embraced the label with pride.
That first day as Prime Minister in 1979, she walked up to the famous black door of 10 Downing Street and spoke the words of St. Francis of Assisi about bringing harmony where there was discord. Her critics would say she spent the next decade doing pretty much the opposite, taking on labor unions, foreign powers, and her own party members with such fierce determination that some politicians literally trembled before her.
By the time she left office in 1990, after 11 years as PM, she had reshaped British politics. Whether loved or loathed, she had proven that the premiership was no longer just a gentleman's game.