The Leadership Qualities of Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill - Essay Example

The office of the Prime Minister is the highest in the British government where the Queen is regarded as the head of Basically, the prime minister or Premier is the chief member of the cabinet in a parliamentary system of government in Britain. The British system of government states that prime minister is head of the government which is a bit different to the other systems in other countries such as the US and other countries where the president doubles as a head of state and government. The premier is usually the leader of the majority party in parliament and he is vested with the powers to appoint the cabinet. The premier is responsible for coordinating the policies of the government and controlling its administrative structures where he or she is expected to have the support of the legislature or else he or she would be expected to resign if there is no support from the other members of the parliament. Against this background, this essay seeks to analyse the leadership qualities of two British Prime Ministers namely Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill and how they performed during their terms of office. Since 1721 to the present moment, Britain has been ruled by a total of 52 Prime Ministers. Winston Churchill is remembered as one of the greatest leaders to rule in Britain. Churchill was born in 1874 and he became a member of parliament in 1900 representing the Conservative party. He became a Prime minister in 1940 until 1945 and later regained the premiership post in 1951 to 1955 after the Conservative party regained victory in 1951 general elections (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html). He held senior positions in both the Liberal and Conservative governments. His original thinking and outspoken ideas always made him great and in the process, it would also create enemies for him. From an early stage, Churchill had ideas of becoming a great person and he managed to become somebody always remembered for being a soldier, reporter and statesman. Born to a powerful and rich family in Britain, Churchill realised from an early age that he had an obligation to maintain the status of the family. He knew that great things were expected of him. Having gone through different schools, most of his teachers indicated that he was difficult and often a stupid person who could not live to the expectations of people born to a rich family. He apparently did not enjoy an early life since he was savagely treated at his prestigious boarding school where he would be flogged for no apparent reason simply because he came from a rich family. Winston could not make it to fame through academic prowess since he was not intellectually gifted to say the least. However, his harsh upbringing hardened him to the extent of deciding to join the army as the only scapegoat from his misery. Through chance, he managed to sneak into the army having first performed badly in the entrance examination. Given the chance, he managed to prove his prowess as a soldier since he only realised that this was the most opportune avenue to prove that he could immensely contribute to the cause of Britain which would further reassert the status of his family as rich and powerful. Being a fighter and a soldier, Churchill only realised that he had grabbed the chance to live up to his expectations and those of the citizens at large. Having saved in the army for a short stint, he resigned to take up the post as a journalist and a war correspondent. Apparently, when the Boer War in South Africa, began, Churchill took this opportunity to prove that he was a man and a fighter committed to defend the British Empire. Having survived the battle by hook, he managed to be remembered from his maxim, “never surrender.” During all these periods, Churchill managed to harness his leadership styles with technology that existed by then especially with the aim of furthering the interests of Britain through the army. Being a pilot, he advocated the use of sophisticated weaponry to defend the cause of Britain at any expense to the extent of being even feared by dictators such as Hitler. Being an experienced communicator, Churchill and the British people were one and he managed to entice many people that he was the person of choice. He had good media relations to the extent that his second return as the British Premium was received with applause by many people. He fought against socialism and was committed to fight for the cause of all the people in Britain where they would get the opportunity to be empowered. Margaret Thatcher is the only female Premier who has ruled Britain to date. She was born in 1925 and she realised that politics was her calling from an early stage and she stood as a conservative candidate in the 1950 and 1951 elections. When the party lost the general elections in 1974, she contested for the party leadership and was elected Prime Minister in 1979. Thatcher ruled for 11 years until 1990 making herself the longest leading premier for three consecutive terms in the 20th century (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0857137/bio). During her tenure as the country’s leader, Thatcher made sound reforms to the British government and her policies made her popular with the people in Britain. She got very influential positions in the British government as a cabinet minister before taking over the reigns of the Conservative party. Some of the reforms were informed on the notion of capitalism where she was bent on wiping out socialism. She made reforms to the education, health as well as welfare systems and the British economy witnessed successful prosperity under her leadership. Her tough policies on crime made her the darling of the British people and her career as a politician was boosted when she sent British troops to go and fight in South America which had been invaded by Argentina and Britain won that war. The victory reasserted that Britain was still a force to reckon with in the world. Basically, Thatcher had good relations with her party members and she dedicated her time through activities that were meant for her cause. To date, she is president to many of these organisations that played a pivotal role in promoting her ideas. However, there were some segments which were against her and at one time, her life was attempted on by assailants which resulted in the death of six people when a bomb exploded in the hotel they were staying in. Apparently, the bomb was meant to kill her but she managed to escape unhurt. In every system, there are some elements that are not always happy with something that is admired by many people. However, her staunch position of sticking to her policies made her the darling of many Britons since they were meant for their betterment in life. Thatcher was a fan of the television comedy “Yes Minister” and overally, she related well with the media and she was portrayed in a positive manner which gave her fame across the whole world. Some important places are named after her for instance in South Africa there is a nectarine named after her. Whilst some critics were not happy about her job, many of the people in Britain were quite satisfied with her performance given that she was a lady. In patriarchy systems, there are some who often view women as inferior to man but this was not the case with Thatcher who earned the nickname, “The Iron lady” for her unshifting position on policies that were meant to develop the economy of the country for the benefit of everyone. By virtue of being a scientist by profession, Margaret Thatcher promoted the use of technology in various ways in the development of the economy for Britain. She urged people to invent technologies that were meant to empower the people as well as stamping out unemployment which was widely viewed as cancerous to the populace. She believed that with all the necessary technology, the British people would take a leading role in defining their own destiny rather than look forward to other people for assistance always. Thatcher insisted that there was no reason for changing the country’s currency as this would create problems since they would not be able to control it. Idleness of people was not advocated for and through the use of new technology, Thatcher made every sure that Britain’s economy would prosper if its own citizens were given the autonomy to decide their own destiny. By virtue of leaving the post through resignation for personal as well as health reason, it shows that Thatcher had good relations with the electorate since she was elected into office for three consecutive terms. Over and above, it can be noted that both premiers in question were members of the Conservative party. Their great thoughts immensely contributed to the country to thrive since they had the confidence of the electorate. Churchill is remembered for his great ideas and is often quoted in many academic circles as well as the media because of his immense contribution to the well being of Britain and the citizens. Another similarity between these two leaders is that they were engaged in different wars which they however somehow managed to win for the cause of the British people and managed to remain favourites to the electorate. On the other hand, to date, it is only Thatcher who has made history in the politics of Britain by virtue of being the only lady who has made it into premiership and successfully managed to be one of the most admired leaders to run for three consecutive terms. The main notable difference between these two great leaders in question is that they had different sexes. However, sex did not play a big role in determining the success of the British economy since they both made history during their terms of office. References Butler W.V. (1980). Winston Churchill: Never Surrender. London. Hodder and Stroughton. Biography for Winston Churchill (N.D). Retrieved on 28 June 2010 from. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1953/churchill-bio.html Biography for Margaret Thatcher. Retrieved on 28 June 2010 from: “Prime Pinisters” The Columbia Encyclopaedia. 6thEdition 2008. Enyclopedia.com. 25 June 2010 Read More