On February 25, 1981, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrived in Washington, D.C., to begin a three-day visit. She was the first head of government to visit the newly inaugurated U.S. President, Ronald Reagan. Two days later, she came to Georgetown's campus and received an honorary degree in Gaston Hall.
After the honorary degree conferral, the Prime Minister spoke about the economy and its relation to political freedom. She ended with the following words: Father President, the road to recovery is paved not with good intentions but with hard decisions. I believe that both our countries are now on the right road. We in Britain wish your new President and his administration success and Godspeed. The full text of her speech can be viewed via the Margaret Thatcher Foundation's website.
The decision to confer the honorary degree was not without controversy, however. Indeed, the March 3, 1981, Voice cover story was titled: The Controversial Margaret Thatcher and, as The Washington Post reported the day after the ceremony, about 150 students and members of external Irish-American groups peacefully protested at the University's main gates over the British government's policies toward Northern Ireland. They carried placards with statements such as "Why Reward British Oppression?" "and Irish Give Sons to Jesuits, Georgetown Gives Honor to the Brits."
The University, in an effort to tamp down potential protests, had issued statements indicating that granting the Prime Minister an honorary degree did not connote agreement with all the policies of her government and explaining that the degree was awarded in recognition of her fight against inflation and unemployment, as well as her leadership in bringing peace to Zimbabwe. Her honorary degree citation also noted her achievement in becoming the first woman elected to lead of a European nation. And many who waited for her motorcade did so to show support or simply to catch a glimpse of her.
Later on February 27, the Prime Minister hosted President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George H.W. Bush, and the U.S. Cabinet for dinner at the British Embassy. With his term barely a month old, this technically marked the first time that President Reagan set foot on foreign soil.
--Lynn Conway, Georgetown University Archivist