BBC讣文《撒切尔夫人》：回忆“铁娘子”的一生

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BBC讣文《撒切尔夫人》：回忆“铁娘子”的一生

Obituary: Margaret Thatcher讣文：玛格丽特·撒切尔

Margaret Thatcher, who has died following a stroke, was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th Century.撒切尔夫人，20世纪最有影响力的政治人物之一，在2013年4月8日，因中风不幸逝世。

Her legacy had a profound effect upon the policies of her successors, both Conservative and Labour, while her radical and sometimes confrontational approach defined her 11-year period at No 10.她深深影响了她之后的包括保守党和工党在内的历届英国首相。这样一位激进的，有时甚至带有攻击性的“铁娘子”担任了长达11年之久的英国首相。

Her term in office saw thousands of ordinary voters gaining a stake in society, buying their council houses and eagerly snapping up shares in the newly privatised industries such as British Gas and BT.她在任职期间推动社会改革，成千上万的英国普通选民购买了政府公屋，抢购了诸如英国天然气和英国电信等新近私有化行业的股份。

But her rejection of consensus politics made her a divisive figure and opposition to her policies and her style of government led eventually to rebellion inside her party and unrest on the streets.但她对舆论政治的排斥使她备受争议，同时她的政策也招致反对。最终她所领导的政党内部反声一片，社会也混乱不堪。

Father's influence父亲的影响

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Alfred Roberts, a grocer, and his wife, Beatrice.玛格丽特·希尔达·撒切尔，1925年10月13日生于林肯郡的格兰瑟姆。她的父亲阿尔弗雷德·罗伯茨是一个杂货商，她的母亲叫比阿特丽斯。

Her father, a Methodist lay preacher and local councillor, had an immense influence on her life and the policies she would adopt. 她的父亲是卫理公会的世俗布道者，同时也是当地的议员。撒切尔在她之后的生活和政治上深受其父亲的影响。

"Well, of course, I just owe almost everything to my own father. I really do," she said later. "He brought me up to believe all the things that I do believe."“当然了，我几乎可以把一切都归功于我父亲，的确如此。”撒切尔说道。“他把我养大，让我坚信我认定的东西。”

She studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and became only the third female president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. 她曾在牛津大学的萨默维尔学院学习自然科学。她还是牛津大学保守党协会的第三位女性主席。

After graduating she moved to Colchester where she worked for a plastics company and became involved with the local Conservative Party organisation.毕业后，她搬到了科尔切斯特，在当地一家塑料公司工作，随后加入了当地保守党组织。

In 1949, she was adopted as the prospective Conservative candidate for the seat of Dartford in Kent which she fought, unsuccessfully, in the 1950 and 1951 general elections.1949年，她被定为未来肯特郡达特福德区的保守党候选人。然而，在1950年和1951的两次大选中均不幸败北。

However, she made a significant dent in the Labour majority and, as the then youngest ever Conservative candidate, attracted a lot of media attention. 但是她却大大撼动了工党主体。同时作为当时有史以来最年轻的保守党候选人，她也吸引了众多媒体的关注。

In 1951 she married a divorced businessman, Denis Thatcher, and began studying for the Bar exams. She qualified as a barrister in 1953, the year in which her twins Mark and Carol were born.1951年，她嫁给了一个离过婚的商人，丹尼斯·撒切尔。同时她还投考律师公会，并于1953年成功取得讼务律师的资格。同年，夫妇俩诞下了一对孪生兄妹，分别取名为马克和卡洛儿。

She tried, unsuccessfully, to gain selection as a candidate in 1955, but finally entered Parliament for the safe Conservative seat of Finchley at the 1959 general election.1955年她再次竞选保守党候选人，却未能如愿，最终在1959年的大选中成功当选芬奇利议会成员。

Within two years she had been appointed as a junior minister and, following the Conservative defeat in 1964, was promoted to the shadow cabinet.不到两年，她就被任命为初级部长。1964年保守党落选后，她又被晋升为影子内阁。

'Milk snatcher'“牛奶掠夺者”

When Sir Alec Douglas-Home stood down as Conservative leader, Mrs Thatcher voted for Ted Heath in the 1965 leadership election and was rewarded with a post as spokeswoman on housing and land.亚历克·道格拉斯-霍姆爵士辞任保守党党魁以后，撒切尔在1965年党魁选举中把选票投给了特德·希思，作为回报，她成为了住房和土地事务的发言人。

She campaigned vigorously for the right of council tenants to buy their houses and was a constant critic of Labour's policy of high taxation.她积极推动社会福利房住户获得购房置业的权利，并成为工党高税收政策的坚决批判者。

When Ted Heath entered Downing Street in 1970, she was promoted to the cabinet as education secretary with a brief to implement spending cuts in her department.当特德·希思1970年入主唐宁街后，她被提升为教育及科学大臣，随后她下令削减教育开支。

One of these resulted in the withdrawal of free school milk for children aged between seven and 11 which led to bitter attacks from Labour and a press campaign which dubbed her "Margaret Thatcher, milk snatcher".削减开支的一个结果就是取消了给7岁至11岁儿童免费供应牛奶的政策，这导致工党对其发动了猛烈的攻击，媒体抗议运动也将她戏称为“玛格利特·撒切尔，牛奶掠夺者”。

She herself had argued in cabinet against the removal of free milk. She later wrote: "I learned a valuable lesson. I had incurred the maximum of political odium for the minimum of political benefit."她自己也曾在内阁为反对取消免费牛奶而争吵。她之后写道：“我学到了宝贵的一课。我为了最小的政治利益而招致了最大的政治憎恨。”

As one of the few high-flying women in politics there was, inevitably, talk of the possibility that she might, one day, become prime minister. Similar press speculation surrounded the Labour minister Shirley Williams.作为政界少有的有野心的女性，她不可避免地会被人谈及：或许某一天，她会成为首相。工党大臣谢莉·威廉姆斯身边也围绕着类似的媒体猜测。

Margaret Thatcher dismissed the idea. In a TV interview she said she did not believe that there would be a woman prime minister in her lifetime.玛格利特·撒切尔驳斥了这种想法。在一个电视采访中，她说她不相信在她有生之年会产生一个女首相。

The Heath government was not to last. Battered by the 1973 oil crisis, forced to impose a three-day working week and facing a miners' strike, Edward Heath's administration finally collapsed in February 1974.希思政府注定不会长久。在遭受1973年石油危机的打击，被迫强制实行三日工作周，并面临新一轮矿工罢工后，爱德华·希思政府终于在1974年2月垮台了。

Housewife-politician是政治家也是家庭主妇

Thatcher became shadow environment secretary but, angered by what she saw as Heath's U-turns on Conservative economic policy, stood against him for the Tory leadership in 1975.撒切尔夫人随后出任影子内阁环境事务大臣。出于对希思的保守经济政策大转弯的不满，1975年她向希思的保守党领袖地位发起挑战。

When she went into Heath's office to tell him her decision, he did not even bother to look up. "You'll lose," he said. "Good day to you."当她走进希思办公室告诉他她的决定时，希思甚至连头都没抬。“你肯定会输，”希思说。“祝你好运。”

To everyone's surprise, she defeated Heath on the first ballot, forcing his resignation, and she saw off Willie Whitelaw on the second ballot to become the first woman to lead a major British political party.出乎所有人的意料，她在第一轮中就击败了希思，希思被迫辞职。她又在第二轮投票中压倒了威廉·怀特劳，成为英国主要政党的第一位女性领袖。

She quickly began to make her mark. A 1976 speech criticising the repressive policies of the Soviet Union led to a Russian newspaper dubbing her "the Iron Lady," a title which gave her much personal pleasure.她很快就出了名。1976年，撒切尔夫人在一次演讲中批评苏联的压制性政策，一家俄文报纸给她起了个“铁娘子”的称号，这一称号给撒切尔本人带来不少欢乐。

Adopting the persona of a housewife-politician who knew what inflation meant to ordinary families, she challenged the power of the trades unions whose almost constant industrial action peaked in the so-called "winter of discontent" in 1979.兼具家庭主妇和政治家角色的撒切尔夫人，很清楚通货膨胀对普通家庭意味着什么，她向工会的权力提出了挑战。而在1979年，工会持续的罢工行动在所谓的“不满的冬天”达到了高潮。

As the Callaghan government tottered, the Conservatives rolled out a poster campaign showing a queue of supposedly unemployed people under the slogan "Labour Isn't Working".卡拉汉政府举步维艰，保守党趁机展开一场海报宣传活动，让一群貌似失业的工人打出“工党不行了”的口号。

Jim Callaghan lost a vote of confidence on 28 March 1979. Mrs Thatcher's no-nonsense views struck a chord with many voters and the Conservatives won the ensuing general election.1979年3月28日，詹姆斯·卡拉汉因一票之差未通过不信任动议。而撒切尔夫人的实用论引起了很多投票者的共鸣，保守党最终赢得了接下来的大选。