Întâlnirea Ceaușeștilor cu Margaret Thatcher – Foto inedit – Telegrame

Margaret Thatcher a vizitat România în 1975, când s-a întâlnit cu Nicolae şi Elena Ceauşescu.
MARGARET THATCHER despre Elena Ceauşescu: „Nu deosebea un polimer de un poligon”
Margaret Thatcher a vizitat România pentru prima dată în septembrie 1971, în calitate de secretar de stat pentru educaţie şi ştiinţă al Marii Britanii. În acel moment, România părea un stat ce doreşte să se desprindă de dictatul sovietic şi să meargă spre independenţă.

Cea de-a doua vizită a „Doamnei de Fier” a avut loc în anul 1975, între 30 august şi 3 septembrie de această dată în calitate de lider al Partidului Conservator, prilej cu care a cunoscut conducerea Partidului Comunist Român, pe Nicolae Ceauşescu, scrie historia.ro.În 1978, preşedintele Nicolae Ceauşescu a vizitat Marea Britanie şi s-a întâlnit şi cu Margaret Thatcher, care la acea vreme era liderul Opoziţiei. Thatcher a spus că „a fost impresionată de preşedintele Ceauşescu şi a rămas cu anumite impresii despre el ca liderl al României, o ţară dispusă să-şi dezvolte cooperarea cu alte ţări”.

 Nu a revenit în România în calitate de prim-ministru, cu toate că în 1980, ministrul său de Externe, lordul Carrington, a făcut o vizită oficială în statul român, iar în aprilie 1981, Ilie Verdeţ, în calitate de prim-ministru, este primit la Londra de către Margaret Thatcher.
Doamna de fier a condus guvernul britanic din 1979 până în 1990. Este unicul prim-ministru, în 160 de ani de istorie britanică, reales de trei ori consecutiv.
Sergiu Celac, fost ambasador român în Marea Britanie, spune despre Margaret Thatcher că a fost un om cu un umor foarte fin.Într-un discurs ţinut în aprilie 1981, la o întâlnire cu premierul român de atunci Ilie Verdeţ, Margaret Thatcher îi spunea prim-ministrului că vrea să continue relaţiile cu România.
Fostul premier britanic Margaret Thatcher a murit luni, în urma unui atac cerebral. „Doamna de fier”, în vârstă de 88 de ani, a decedat luni dimineaţă, potrivit purtătorului său de cuvânt.

TELEGRAME

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu in London 1981. Thatcher spoke of Britain’s pride in its „contribution to the Romanian aircraft industry”, a reference to the fact that in May 1977, British Aerospace (BAE Systems today) agreed to transfer its One-Eleven commercial aircraft technology to Romania. Licensed production under the ROMBAC 1-11 name followed in 1979. The programme, though a great diplomatic coup for Ceausescu, was a commercial flop, with just nine aircraft completed in the ten year life of the programme.

1981 Apr 13 MoMargaret Thatcher Speech at dinner for Romanian Prime Minister Document type: public statementDocument kind: SpeechVenue: No.10 Downing StreetSource: Thatcher Archive: speaking text Journalist: -Editorial comments: 1945.

Importance ranking: MinorWord count: 997 Themes: Foreign policy (Central and Eastern Europe), Sport, Trade, Foreign policy (USSR and successor states), Foreign policy (Middle East), Defence (general), Defence (arms control), Foreign policy (development, aid, etc)

Mr. Prime Minister, etc.

I am delighted to have this opportunity of entertaining you and members of your delegation this evening.I am confident that your visit here, Mr. Prime Minister, is going to produce lasting benefits for both our countries. But honesty compels one to admit that for many people in both our countries, the most exciting Anglo/Romanian event in 1981 will be the return World Cup football match between Romania and England which is due to take place in just over two weeks’ time. We are just behind after the game in Bucharest but are determined to take full advantage of the encounter on home territory. My [ Denis Thatcher] husband tells me that a team from Romania playing the kind of football in which he is more interested—Rugby—played some excellent games on their recent tour here.[fo 1]Footballers generate excitement in a situation where one side must win and another lose. We are fortunate that in the field of political and economic relations between the United Kingdom and Romania, this is not so. We can each of us win in our continuing co-operation.

BILATERAL RELATIONS
Our talks this afternoon were, I think you will agree, consistent with the best traditions of dialogue between Britain and Romania. Although the social and economic systems of our two countries are profoundly different, we agree on certain essentials, notably the importance of maintaining peace, and respect for the sovereign independence of nations; this provides a firm basis for fruitful discussion and for fruitful co-operation in many fields.

POLITICAL
The tradition of contact, co-operation and dialogue between Romania and these islands has a long history. Successive British Governments have accorded a high priority to maintaining and developing friendly and constructive relations with Romania. I know that the Romanian Government shares this interest. The successful State Visit to Britain by your distinguished [ Nicolae Ceausescu] President in 1978 was a clear demonstration of this, and your own visit is evidence that our bilateral relations have continued to flourish since then.

COMMERCIAL
Our commercial relations are healthy. Britain is proud of its contribution to the development of the Romanian aircraft industry, a particularly good example of co-operation to joint advantage. But the scope for trade and co-operation between our two countries is far from exhausted.[fo 3] It is important that we should do more. I know, Mr. Prime Minister, that your own responsibilities in Romania lie predominantly in the economic field, and am confident that your visit will give new impetus to the development of our commercial and economic relations. We have tried to arrange for you a programme in this country which takes full account of your interests.

AFGHANISTAN
Your visit here is of value too in the wider context of East/West relations. The British Government is determined to work for peace and stability. That is why we emphasise the need for all countries to conduct their international relations with restraint and in strict accordance with the principles of international law and of the Helsinki Final Act. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan violated those principles and left the West, and the developing world, disillusioned and angry that peace and detente should be so recklessly jeopardised.[fo 4] The international climate will remain strained until Soviet forces are withdrawn.The principle of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states is, I know, as important to you Mr. Prime Minister as it is to me. I think we are agreed on the gravity of the consequences of a breach of that principle anywhere in Europe. An external intervention in Poland would be a disaster for us all.DEFENCE AND ARMS CONTROL
The search for security is the fundamental responsibility of any government. In today’s uncertain world the need for a credible defence effort is clear. Those who might contemplate aggression or adventure must know that we have the capability and the will to respond.[fo 5]But arms control and disarmament is also a part of the search for security, and one to which we attach great importance. We have shown ourselves ready both to put forward and to respond to ideas which will allow a balance of forces to be struck at a lower level, and we shall continue to play an active role in this field. At the same time, we make no secret of our preference for concrete and verifiable measures and of our distrust of what I call the declaratory approach to disarmament.

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC
This is a time of economic difficulty for virtually every nation.But we are especially conscious of the economic difficulties facing many developing countries, particularly the poorest among them. We welcome Romania’s close involvement in the international search for solutions to these problems.[fo 6] In this she sets a valuable example to others. We in Britain are continuing our substantial aid programme, which will amount this year to over £1 billion. And I believe very strongly in the value of private flows, for which Britain is the second largest source in the world. But, above all, we shall strive for sustained non-inflationary growth here in Britain, so that what remains one of the most open markets in the world will continue to make a major contribution to the export earnings of the developing countries.

CONCLUSION
Mr. Prime Minister, I have done no more than touch on some of the major international problems which are of concern to both our countries. Happily, there are no such problems in our bilateral relations. I am convinced that our already good relations can continue on their present course; and I hope that they will increasingly develop in the directions of[fo 7] interest not only to our governments, but to the people in many walks of life whose informal contacts are an important part of the fabric of international relations.I would like to raise my glass to you, Mr. Prime Minister, to the happiness and prosperity of the Romanian people and to the further co-operation between Romania and Britain.