Thatcher Reagan And Mulroney

Savoie considers the war of reform waged by the leaders of these major industrial countries. Reagan declared that he had come to Washington to “drain the swamp” of bureaucracy, and set up the Grace Commission to investigate the operation of the U.S. government. Thatcher and Mulroney were equally committed to reform and initiated wide-ranging changes. By the end of the 1990s, the changes were dramatic. Many governments operations had been privatized in all three countries, and new management techniques had been introduced. In Great Britain, one observer judged that the changes were historically as important as the collapse of Keynesian economics. Is government now better in these countries, and was political leadership right in focusing on management of the bureaucracy as the villain? Savoie suggests that the reforms overlooked problems now urgently requiring attention and, at the same time, attempted to address non-existent problems. He combines theory and research based on sixty-two interviews, nearly all with members of the executive branch of the governments of Britain, Canada and the United States.

Drawing on interviews with those closest to them, as well as on hundreds of recently declassified private letters and telephone calls, Wapshott depicts a complex, personal, and sometimes argumentative relationship between these two unlikely political soulmates. 8-page b&w photo insert.

A new exploration of the relationship between the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan administrations in domestic policy. Using recently released documentary material and extensive research interviews, James Cooper demonstrates how specific policy transfer between these 'political soul mates' was more limited than is typically assumed.

Drawing on a host of recently declassified documents from the Reagan-Thatcher years, A Diplomatic Meeting: Reagan, Thatcher, and the Art of Summitry provides an innovative framework for understanding the development and nature of the special relationship between British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and American president Ronald Reagan, who were known as "political soulmates." James Cooper boldly challenges the popular conflation of the leaders' platforms, and proposes that Reagan and Thatcher's summitry highlighted unique features of domestic policy in their respective countries. Summits, therefore, were a significant opportunity for the two world leaders to further their own domestic agendas. Cooper uses the relationship between Reagan and Thatcher to demonstrate that summitry politics transcended any distinction between foreign policy and domestic politics—a major objective of Reagan and Thatcher as they sought to consolidate power and implement their domestic economic programs in a parallel quest to reverse notions of their countries' "decline." This unique and significant study about the making of the Reagan-Thatcher relationship uses their key meetings as an avenue to explore the fluidity between the domestic and international spheres, a perspective that is underappreciated in existing interpretations of the leaders' relationship and Anglo-American relations and, more broadly, in the field of international affairs.

Based on unprecedented access--interviews with key players, diaries, memos, etc.--the first book to document Brian Mulroney's impressive foreign policy record, from NAFTA to the collapse of the Soviet Union, climate change to the release of Nelson Mandela. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney led and lifted Canada's voice and influence in world affairs to unprecedented heights. He understood better than many of his predecessors that Canada's power and influence derived from a solid grasp of our vital national interests, and a purposeful commitment to pursing those interests and values on the world stage. With full access to key players and new documentation, Fen Osler Hampson brilliantly tells how Canada succeeded in advancing its national interests on trade, the environment, national security, and the elevation of democracy and human rights under Mulroney's leadership. Through negotiation and the deliberate cultivation of close personal links with other world leaders and figures, including Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, François Mitterrand, Nelson Mandela and many others, there were significant achievements that serve Canadian interests to this day. Efforts to combat acid rain, repair the ozone layers, and to champion climate change, long before it became fashionable, surprised and satisfied many ardent advocates on the environment. Perhaps most important of all, Brian Mulroney put to bed the long-standing myth that Canada could not be a respected international player if it was seen as being too close to the United States. In sharp contrast to his predecessor, he argued that the path for global influence for the country began with a principled and trusted dialogue with Washington, one that other world leaders noticed. As Canada's present government navigates its own course in choppy international waters, there is much to be learned from our finest hour on the international stage some three decades ago under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Politics was always Brian Mulroney’s real love. As an undergraduate in Nova Scotia he amazed his friends by getting Prime Minister Diefenbaker on the phone, and he rose fast in the Tory ranks in Quebec as a young Montreal lawyer. He tried for the leadership of the party in 1976, losing to Joe Clark, then returned to win a rematch in 1983. The next year, he ran the most successful election campaign in Canadian history, winning 211 seats, and taking office in September 1984. His first term in office was a stormy one, marked by the launch of the Meech Lake Accord and the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. In 1988, however, he was re-elected after a rollercoaster campaign, and his second term in office was just as controversial, featuring the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords — still a source of bitter regret for him, as opportunities missed. This book falls into two main sections: first, his rise out of a working-class family in Baie-Comeau. Second, his immersion into the world of Ottawa politics, in opposition and then in power. The years in power are dealt with in fascinating detail, and we receive his candid accounts of backstage dealings with Trudeau, Clark, and other Canadian leaders and on the international scene with Reagan, Thatcher, Mitterrand, Kohl, Gorbachev, Mandela, Clinton, and many more. This big book has a huge cast of major players. Brian Mulroney is determined to make this the best prime minister’s memoirs this country has ever seen, and a full-time researcher has been helping him for three years. This account of his career is colourful and forthright, and a number of opponents will be sorry that they caught his attention. The manuscript is full of personal touches and reflects the fact that he wrote it by hand, reading it aloud for rhythm and impact. Studded with entries from his private journal, this book — by a son, brother, husband, and father — is deeply personal, and includes some surprisingly frank admissions. The book establishes the scale of his achievements, and reveals him as a man of great charm. Memoirs will allow that little-known Brian Mulroney to engage directly with the reader. This book is full of surprises, as we fall under the spell of a great storyteller.

*Includes pictures of Reagan, Thatcher, and important people, places, and events in their lives. *Includes an in depth analysis of both leaders' political philosophies and records. *Includes a Bibliography on Reagan for further reading. "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" – Ronald Reagan “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.” – Margaret Thatcher Kindred Spirits. Cold Warriors. Conservative Icons. In the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher forged a strong bond that shaped the destinies of the United States, the United Kingdom, and all of Europe, banding together to bring about the end of the Soviet Union. While their geopolitical successes earned them a place in history, it was their similar political philosophies that continue to greatly influence the politics of their respective nations over 20 years after they left office. In a story that could have come straight out of Hollywood, golden actor Ronald Reagan rose through California politics to become California governor and eventually the 40th President. The former actor then went on to have one of the most consequential presidencies of the 20th century, unquestionably making him one of the most influential men of the last 50 years. And his name is still as relevant in American politics today, with every politician with an R next to his or her name trying to claim Ronald Reagan's conservative mantle. In the Republican presidential nomination debates in 2011, Reagan's name was invoked an average of over 5 times per debate, more than every other president combined. Meanwhile, Americans of all stripes continue to debate the merits of “Reaganomics” more than 30 years after Reagan was elected. Sir Winston Churchill is often cited as Britain's greatest prime minister for leading the United Kingdom against Hitler's Nazi war machine during World War II, and indeed he was the idol of the one person who many think might have surpassed him: Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher not only became Britain's first female prime minister, she also became its longest serving prime minister. The political precedents Thatcher set as a woman would be enough of a legacy in its own right, but Thatcher effectively wielded her power in a way that made a lasting contribution both to geopolitics and the perception of female politicians in general. Thatcher is widely credited, along with Ronald Reagan, as one of the principal Cold Warriors who brought about the demise of the Soviet Union, whose leaders gave her the famous nickname “Iron Lady”. And of course, Thatcher was recently in the spotlight again with the release of the critically acclaimed movie The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep. Conservative Icons looks at the private lives of the two leaders, highlights their political accomplishments and conservative philosophies, and analyzes their ongoing political legacies. Along with pictures of Reagan, Thatcher and other important people and events in his life, you will learn about these Conservative Icons like you never have before, in no time at all.