Meridian International Center Pays Special Tribute to The Right Honorable Margaret Thatcher

On Monday, April 8, 2013, Meridian International Center’s Board of Trustees, President, and staff paid special tribute to the Right Honorable Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), the longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the only woman to have held that post, and the first woman to lead a political party in the Western World. Ms. Thatcher was a participant in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in 1967. The IVLP is a professional exchange program which promotes mutual understanding through carefully designed visits to the U.S. for international leaders. At the time of her visit to the U.S., Ms. Thatcher was Opposition Spokesman for Treasury and Economic Affairs. Her notable program meetings included Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Senators Margaret Chase Smith and Joseph Clark, Congresswoman Leonor Sullivan, Professor Paul Samuelson of MIT, Ester Peterson of the U.S. Department of Labor, and Walt Rostow, the Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson. Ms. Thatcher visited several U.S. cities beyond Washington, DC – including Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Omaha, Chicago, Boston, and New York City – primarily focusing on economic policy, banking, health care, media, and education.

In a comment made 20 years after her IVLP visit, Ms. Thatcher said that she remained “eternally grateful for the wonderful experience it gave me.”

According to Ambassador Stuart Holliday, Meridian’s President and CEO, “Our team feels honored that Margaret Thatcher is a distinguished alumna of a Meridian-led IVLP. At Meridian, we often encounter emerging leaders who have great political acuity and moral fortitude. Margaret Thatcher stands out as an individual with the exceptional courage to foster great change in her nation and across the globe. Through her efforts and example, more women are empowered to take on leadership roles today – in politics, the corporate world or civil society. Hers is an enduring illustration of global leadership, and today, we pay special tribute to The Right Honorable Margaret Thatcher and her legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and the people of the United Kingdom.”