Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died from a stroke at the age of 87.

It was said that Thatcher returned the "great" to Great Britain. She burst onto the political scene at the age of 34, the youngest woman ever elected to parliament.

From 1979 to 1990, she served as leader of the Conservative Party, becoming the country's first female prime minister in 1979 when her party won the elections.

Her political and economic philosophy was steadfast anti-communism, self-reliance, and free markets - all unfashionable ideas at the time.

"I believe this is what will enable us to sweep Britain clean of socialism," she said at the time.

Thatcher found a kindred spirit in President Ronald Reagan and had a famous moment during the first Gulf War when she instructed a vacillating President George Bush that it was "no time to go wobbly."

She gained a nickname "Iron Lady," which she wore with pride.

She led Britain to victory when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. But in 1990 she was ousted in a bitter political fight within the Conservative Party.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now leaving Downing Street after eleven and a half wonderful years," Thatcher said after her defeat. "We are happy that we leave the U.K. in a very, very much better state than when we came here."

Still, Thatcher's legacy as a political titan and cultural icon remains intact in the United Kingdom and around the world.