Mark Thatcher

Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet is a British businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher, and is the twin brother of Carol Thatcher. He left the UK in 1986, and has since lived in the United States, Switzerland, Monaco, South Africa, Gibraltar, Barbados, Guernsey, and Spain. In 2004 the Sunday Times estimated his wealth at £60 million.

About Mark Thatcher in brief

Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet is a British businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher, and is the twin brother of Carol Thatcher. His early career in business frequently led to questions being raised that he was benefiting from his mother’s position, notably in relation to the Al-Yamamah arms deal. He left the UK in 1986, and has since lived in the United States, Switzerland, Monaco, South Africa, Gibraltar, Barbados, Guernsey, and Spain. In 2004 the Sunday Times estimated his wealth at £60 million, most of which they suggested was in offshore accounts. In 2005, he was convicted and given a four-year suspended prison sentence and a fine in South Africa for funding the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d’état attempt. He has two children by his first wife, Diane Burgdorf. He wed his second wife, Sarah-Jane Russell, in 2008. After his father’s death in 2003, he became Sir Mark Thatcher and succeeded to the Thatcher baronetcy, a hereditary title which had unusually been given to his father in 1990. In 1977 he set up Mark Thatcher Racing, which ran into financial difficulties.

On 9 January 1982 Thatcher, his French co-driver, Anne-Charlotte Verney, and their mechanic went missing for six days in the Sahara Desert whilst driving a Peugeot 504 in the Paris-Dakar Rally. They were declared missing on 12 January. His father flew to Dakar, where a large-scale search was launched, including six military aircraft from three countries and Algerian ground troops. On 14 January, the Algerian military spotted Thatcher’s party 50 km off course. This caused international embarrassment to his mother. In 1984 his mother faced questions in the House of Commons about his involvement in representing the bid of Cementation, a British company and a subsidiary of Trafalgar House, to build a university in Oman. In 1986 he faced questions again over her relationship with the Sultan of Brunei, Bernard Ingham, the Prime Minister’s press secretary, and suggested that he could best help the government win the 1987 general election by leaving the country. He moved to Texas, where he worked for David Wickins of Lotus Cars.

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Thatcherism Margaret Thatcher Denis Thatcher Carol Thatcher