THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 15, 1996 TAG: 9604150081
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Margaret Thatcher has received the first award for statesmanship ever bestowed by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation for her role in the Western alliance that ended the Cold War.
The former British prime minister received the award at Monticello on Saturday night, the 253rd anniversary of Jefferson's birth. She visited Monticello after appearing at a two-day NATO conference on Western security at the College of William and Mary.
``I was impressed with his portrait,'' Thatcher said during brief remarks to reporters after a private, 40-minute tour of Jefferson's mountaintop estate.
``It gives you an impression of the power of the man,'' she said. ``He has wonderful eyes and a very distinctive face.''
Thatcher also talked of her high regard for the home's practical details.
``Of course I've read so much about Jefferson and his enormous number of varied talents,'' Thatcher said. ``I hadn't realized he was so practical in every respect.''
The decision to grant the award to Thatcher, who aggressively defended government privilege in Britain and crushed rebellion in Northern Ireland, was a controversial one.
The selection surprised a number of historians at the University of Virginia who said many were more qualified. Irish-Americans complained of her treatment of dissidents who want Northern Ireland free from British rule.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev appeared at Jefferson's 250th birthday celebration, which drew much more criticism, foundation President Daniel P. Jordan said.
The private award ceremony, limited to 170 invited guests, was the culmination of the semiannual, two-day meeting of the foundation's 60-member board of trustees. One of every year's two meetings falls on Jefferson's birthday, and has been marked by awards for achievement in fields such as architecture and law. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Before heading to Charlottesville for her Jefferson award, Margaret
Thatcher spoke Saturday with U.S. Sen. John Warner at the
International Conference on NATO and Security Issues, in
Williamsburg.
by CNB