LONDON (AP) — Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died. She was 87.

Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning.

During 11 bruising years as prime minister, Thatcher found a fellow believer in former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, transformed her country by a ruthless dedication to free markets and infuriated European allies.

Thatcher retired from public engagements in 2002 following a series of small strokes, and was only occasionally seen in public since then.

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(Photo: AP Photo/File)