Mark Thatcher
|
The Honourable Sir Mark Thatcher Bt |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
15 August 1953 Hammersmith, London, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Title | Thatcher Baronet |
| Term | Since 26 June 2003 |
| Predecessor | Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Bt |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) |
Diane Burgdorf (m. 1987; div. 2005) Sarah Jane Clemence (m. 2008) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) |
Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher |
| Relatives |
Hon. Carol Thatcher (twin sister) Alfred Roberts (maternal grandfather) |
Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is a British businessman and the son of the late Baroness Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, and is the twin brother of Carol Thatcher. He has two children by his first wife, Diane Burgdorf. He married his second wife, Sarah Jane Russell, daughter of Terry Clemence, a wealthy property developer, and sister of Viscountess Rothermere, in 2008.
On the death of his father in 2003 he became Sir Mark Thatcher when he succeeded to the Thatcher baronetcy, a hereditary title which had unusually been given to his father in 1990 (this being the only baronetcy created since 1964).
His early career in business frequently led to questions being raised that he was benefiting from his mother's position, notably in relation to the Al-Yamamah arms deal. In 2004 the Sunday Times estimated his wealth at £60 million, most of which they suggested was in offshore accounts.
In 2005 he was convicted and given a four-year suspended jail sentence and a fine in South Africa in relation to the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt. He left the UK in 1986, and since then has lived in the US, Switzerland, South Africa and more recently in Monaco, Gibraltar, Barbados, Guernsey and Spain.
Thatcher and his twin sister, Carol Thatcher, were born six weeks prematurely by caesarean section in 15 August 1953, the same year that their mother qualified as a barrister. Their early years were spent in Chelsea, London. Their mother was narrowly defeated in her bid to become the Conservative candidate in the Orpington by-election, 1955. She was elected to Parliament in the 1959 general election. The children, aged six at the time, featured in her first television interview. His sister observed: "All my childhood memories of my mother were just someone who was superwoman before the phrase had been invented. She was always flat out, she never relaxed, household chores were done at breakneck speed in order to get back to the parliamentary correspondence or get on with making up a speech."
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