(1925- )
War fought under the leadership of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher between Britain and Argentina from April to June 1982 following the Argentine occupation of the Falk-lands or Malvinas Islands in the southern Atlantic. The islands had been settled by the British in the nineteenth century, but Argentina had never relinquished its claim to the territory. Although the United Kingdom did not allow female members of the British military to participate in the battle zone, the leader of Britain during the war was the country’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher (1925— ). The war also saw the appointment of Linda Kitson as Britain’s first female official war artist. Kitson, selected by an Imperial War Museum committee, sailed with the British armada, was on the islands during the fighting, and produced 400 drawings that captured the experiences of the British combatants.
The war resulted from multiple miscalculations. The Argentine government did not believe that Britain would fight to retain the islands. It underestimated Thatcher. Thatcher’s government for its part failed to make it clear to the Argentine government that it would fight to retain control of the islands. Thatcher’s response to the Argentine occupation reinforced her image as the "Iron Maiden." She led Britain in war, declaring, "Defeat—I do not know the meaning of the word!" (Tucker 2001, 364). Later she asserted that "the Falklands victory put the Great back in Britain" (Wegs 1991, 307).
Thatcher, the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, had become prime minister in 1979. The unemployment and cuts in services that initially accompanied Thatcher’s efforts to dismantle the British welfare state had produced an adverse reaction among the British electorate. The war stirred British patriotic feeling and enabled Thatcher to demonstrate her forceful leadership during wartime. Spencer Tucker argues that "lost in the euphoria of victory was her failure to avoid the war" (Tucker 2001, 364). Thatcher capitalized on the euphoria by calling a parliamentary election following Britain’s June victory. Although the Conservatives only received 42 percent of the vote, they won an overwhelming majority of the seats in the House of Commons and kept Thatcher at the helm of the country. She became Britain’s longest serving prime minister in the twentieth century. Thatcher served as prime minister until November 1990 when opposition within the Conservative leadership to her governing style and her attitude toward the strengthening of the European Community forced her resignation.
