Our sincere gratitude was demonstrated in 1983 when she was granted the Freedom of the Falkland Islands. Her friendship and support will be sorely mi… - death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

She will be remembered not only for being Britain's first female prime minister and holding the office for eleven years, but also for the determination and resilience with which she carried out all her duties throughout her public life. Even those who disagreed with her never doubted the strength of her convictions and her unwavering belief in Britain's destiny in the world.

In government, the UK was turned around under - and in large measure because of - her leadership. Her reforms of the economy, trades union law, and her recovery of the Falkland Islands elevated her above normal politics, and may not have been achieved under any other leader. Her outstanding characteristics will always be remembered by those who worked closely with her: courage and determination in politics, and humanity and generosity of spirit in private.

Lady Thatcher was among those great personalities who, with her strong faith in democratic values, turned the course of history and led the way to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. That, for all of us on the other side of the Iron Curtain, meant being free, to which Baroness Thatcher made an indisputable contribution. She strongly believed in everyone’s right to be free, in everyone’s right to have a choice.