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Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt

(1915-2003), Businessman; husband of Baroness Thatcher

Sitter in 4 portraits
Sir Denis Thatcher was a businessman and political spouse. As the husband of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he was the object of public criticism and political satire. In particular, the satirical magazine Private Eye published for many years its 'Dear Bill' series, a spoof letter to a golfing chum, depicting him in the comic persona of a gin-soaked buffoon. Thatcher endured these jibes with style and a self-deprecating good humour. Thatcher was a wealthy chemical executive when he married Margaret Roberts in 1951, and he served as a corporate director after his business was taken over by Burmah Oil in 1965. He was appointed MBE in his own right in 1944 and was made a hereditary baronet in 1991.

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Conservative Party Conference, Brighton 1982

by Paul Brason
oil on canvas, 1982-1985
NPG 5843

Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt; Margaret Thatcher

by Keystone Press Agency Ltd
bromide press print, 13 December 1951
NPG x139971

Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt; Margaret Thatcher, Karen Buxton, Peter Leonard Brooke and five unknown sitters

by Anne-Katrin Purkiss
bromide fibre print, 11 June 1987
NPG x31695

Margaret Thatcher and Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt leaving 10 Downing Street

by Ken Lennox, for Daily Mirror
bromide press print, November 1990
NPG x198324

Related People

Margaret Doris (née Kempson, formerly Thatcher), Lady Hickman (wife)
Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts), Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven (wife)
Hon. Carol Thatcher (daughter)

Groups

Businessmen and women

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Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt