Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of Britain, died Monday after a stroke, according to multiple news outlets.

Thatcher, 87, was prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the post.

Thatcher, a conservative, was ideologically tied to President Ronald Reagan during his two terms in office.

Like Reagan, the "Iron Lady" was a fierce critic of state-controlled economies, once saying "Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money."

While meeting with Tito, the leader of communist Yugoslovia, he is alleged to have said "Women shouldn't meddle in politics."

Thatcher replied: "I don't meddle in politics -- I am politics."

Thatcher retired from public life after a stroke in 2002 and suffered several subsequent strokes.

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