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Former British Prime Minister Heath dies at 89
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Former British Prime Minister Heath dies at 89
Former prime minister Edward Heath, who took Britain into the forerunner of the European Union during his term in office in the early 1970s, died on Sunday aged 89. Heath ruled Britain from 1970 to 1974 but, after losing power, was ousted as leader of the Conservative Party by Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who went on to serve three terms.Although Heath never forgave her and repeatedly criticised her in interviews, Thatcher paid tribute to her old adversary as a “political giant”.
“He was also, in every sense, the first modern Conservative leader – by his humble background, his grammar school education and by the fact of his democratic election,” she said in a statement. Prime Minister Tony Blair described Heath as a man of “integrity and beliefs he held firmly, from which he never wavered”. “He will be remembered by all who knew him as a political leader of great stature and significance,” Blair said in a statement.
As prime minister, Heath negotiated Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1973.He once described the process as “the most enthralling episode in my life”. But his achievements were soon overshadowed by economic problems and a series of strikes. After a showdown with striking coalminers that put British industry on a three-day work week to conserve energy, he called an election in February 1974, and lost.
Another election seven months later confirmed Labour leader Harold Wilson as prime minister.Heath was ousted as leader of the Conservative Party the following year by Thatcher, his one-time education secretary. “Whatever the lady does is wrong. I do not know of a single right decision taken by her,” Heath later said.Born on July 9, 1916 to a carpenter and a housemaid in Broadstairs, a seaside resort in southeast England, Heath became an organ scholar at Balliol College, Oxford.Heath never married but was passionate about music and frequently guest-conducted internationally renowned orchestras.He also shone as an international yachtsman, skippering a crew to victory in the Sydney-to-Hobart race.
<B>Peter GRIFFITHS</B>
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