O’Neill pays tribute to ‘Iron Lady’

 PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has paid tribute to former British prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who died on Monday.

The controversial “Iron Lady” who dominated a generation of British politics and won acclaim for helping to end the Cold War died following a stroke aged 87.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was a British Conservative Party politician, who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

O’Neill said Thatcher would be remembered as one of the most significant leaders of the 20th century and as “a trail blazer” for the role of women in public life as Britain’s first woman and longest serving prime minister.

“Since her time as prime minister, a growing number of democracies including Germany, Australia, and New Zealand have seen women elected as prime minister,” he said.

“Thatcher, apart from being Britain’s first woman prime minister, was a powerful figure in the Commonwealth and in the international stage, and will be remembered for her leadership in promoting freedom in Eastern Europe in particular.

“Papua New Guinea has always enjoyed a strong and friendly relationship with Great Britain, including the long period in which Thatcher served as Prime Minister.

“On behalf of the government and people of Papua New Guinea, I extend to Thatcher’s family our sympathies at her passing.”