Thatcher appointed Lord Carrington, a senior member of the party and former Minister of Defence, as Foreign Minister in 1979.
Although he was considered a "wet", he avoided domestic affairs and got along well with Thatcher.
The first issue was what to do with Rhodesia, where the five-percent white population was determined to rule the prosperous, largely-black ex-colony in the face of overwhelming international disapproval.
After the collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Africa in 1975, South Africa, which had been Rhodesia's chief supporter, realised that country was a liability.
Black rule was inevitable, and Carrington brokered a peaceful solution at the Lancaster House conference in December 1979, attended by Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith, as well as the key black leaders: Abel Muzorewa, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo and Josiah Tongogara.
The conference ended the Rhodesian Bush War.
The end result was the new nation of Zimbabwe under black rule in 1980.
Thatcher appointed Lord Carrington, a senior member of the party and former Minister of Defence, as Foreign Minister in 1979. Although he was considered a "wet", he avoided domestic affairs and got along well with Thatcher. The first issue was what to do with Rhodesia, where the five-percent white population was determined to rule the prosperous, largely-black ex-colony in the face of overwhelming international disapproval. After the collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Africa in 1975, South Africa, which had been Rhodesia's chief supporter, realised that country was a liability. Black rule was inevitable, and Carrington brokered a peaceful solution at the Lancaster House conference in December 1979, attended by Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith, as well as the key black leaders: Abel Muzorewa, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo and Josiah Tongogara. The conference ended the Rhodesian Bush War. The end result was the new nation of Zimbabwe under black rule in 1980.
Margaret Thatcher