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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female |
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prime minister and one of the most commanding figures of the 20th |
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century, died on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of a grocer, Margaret Thatcher was |
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first elected to Parliament in 1959, becoming the youngest of only |
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25 women in the House of Commons; she surprised many by winning |
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leadership of the Conservative Party in 1975, and by the following |
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year, she had already earned the nickname the Iron Lady from the |
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Soviet press for her hard-line position on Russia; she went on to |
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guide the Tories to a landslide victory in the general election in |
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1979; and |
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WHEREAS, Prime Minister Thatcher led the United Kingdom for |
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11 years, the longest tenure of any English prime minister since the |
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early 1800s; transforming a country beset by economic woes and |
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mired in discontent, she restored a sense of optimism by lowering |
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taxes, slashing spending, crushing once-powerful labor unions, and |
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selling off unprofitable state-owned businesses, including Jaguar |
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and British Airways; and |
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WHEREAS, This bold leader captured the world's attention and |
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restored national pride by sending troops to defend the Falkland |
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Islands against an Argentine invasion in 1982; even detractors |
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admired her courage, especially when she gave her keynote speech at |
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the 1984 Tory convention mere hours after an assassination attempt |
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had claimed the lives of colleagues; and |
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WHEREAS, Uniting with President Ronald Reagan and Pope John |
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Paul II, Prime Minister Thatcher worked tirelessly to defeat Soviet |
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communism, end the Cold War, and bring freedom to the people of the |
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Eastern Bloc; the prime minister and President Reagan maintained a |
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strong friendship based on a shared worldview, and among foreign |
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heads of state, she was his staunchest ally; in 1986, she allowed |
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United States warplanes to fly from British bases to bomb Libya in |
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retaliation for acts of terrorism, and she sent ships, tanks, and |
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troops to Iraq for the first Gulf War; and |
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WHEREAS, After leaving 10 Downing Street in 1990, Prime |
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Minister Thatcher continued to advocate for her vision of "popular |
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capitalism" as a highly sought-after speaker on the lecture |
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circuit; two years later, she took her seat in the House of Lords as |
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Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, wrote her memoir, and dedicated |
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herself to the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, a think tank that |
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seeks to advance political and economic freedom; and |
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WHEREAS, Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on October 13, 1925, |
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the youngest of two daughters of Beatrice and Alfred Roberts; she |
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was raised in the central England town of Grantham in a modest home |
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above the grocery shop, which her father ran in addition to serving |
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as a Methodist preacher and local politician; the budding leader |
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began developing her consummate political skill as a child |
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assisting in her father's campaigns for office; she attended |
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Somerville College at Oxford University, where she earned a |
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master's degree in chemistry, and she worked briefly as a research |
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chemist before qualifying as a barrister; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1951, Prime Minister Thatcher married |
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businessman Denis Thatcher, who was her rock of support until his |
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passing in 2003; she was the mother of twins, Mark and Carol, and |
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the grandmother of Amanda and Michael Thatcher; and |
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WHEREAS, Margaret Thatcher profoundly changed British |
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society and altered the course of world history, and her |
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far-reaching accomplishments will continue to resonate with |
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current and future generations around the globe; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Baroness Margaret |
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Thatcher and extend deepest sympathy to the members of her family |
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and to all who mourn her passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Baroness |
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Margaret Thatcher. |
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Price |
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Parker |
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Creighton |
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Larson |
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Dale |
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Flynn |
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Hughes |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1661 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 1, 2013. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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