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Margaret Thatcher

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According to the 19 July 1992 U.S. Sunday Times article, Ms. Thatcher's "advice will be sought on controversial issues including the penetration of tobacco markets in Eastern Europe and the Third World. She was also used to help them lobby against attempts to ban tobacco advertising in the European Community and to fight cigarette taxes and state-run tobacco monopolies." Thatcher was a non-smoker who spoke out against tobacco several times while Prime Minister [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/kns71f00] but her husband Dennis smoked.
The ''Independent'' (of London) reported that Philip Morris paid for a 70th birthday bash for Ms. Thatcher on 23 October 1995 in Washington, D.C. 800 guests attended and the estimated cost of the party was $1 million.[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19951008/ai_n14010702] [However you won't find a mention of this in the Thatcher Foundation archives.]
==Political service==
* 1925-44 Before entering political life
* 1945-70 Early career
* 1970-75 Cabinet rank politician
* 1975-79 Leader of the Tory opposition
* 1979-90 Prime Minister
See the Margaret Thatcher Foundation web site for access to many more of her records. However searches for Philip Morris, Geoff Bible, Murray Bring and even Mark Thatcher all found nothing, so this is not likely to be a useful resource for real research. [http://www.margaretthatcher.org/archive/]
==Background to the UK Tory/Philip Morris relationship==
* Mrs C Crawford - her assistant and travelling companion
USA - Margaret Thatcher Foundation
* Robert Higdon, Administrator* Mark Thatcher (cut out by Seymour in July 1992)was Manging Partner in "The Grantham Company" and regular travelling companion with his mother.* Ms Sandy Warfield,4208 Kimbrelee Court Alexandria, Virginia was the Thatcher Foundation contact
===Philip Morris organisers===
=Documents & Timeline=
During her prime ministership she was also dealing with another Tory MP, '''Robert Hyslop-Maxwell ('Robin')''' which can only be another member of Hamish Maxwell's family.
 
<b>1980 Jun 2</b>Priorities given to tax cuts over rates relief. [http://86e87754c1530cd7c4a7-873dc3788ab15d5cbb1e3fe45dbec9b4.r88.cf1.rackcdn.com/800602%20pm%20let%20PREM19-0829%20f218.pdf]
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<b>1983 Oct 28</b>Letter about delayed delivery of a letter from Home Office. [http://fc95d419f4478b3b6e5f-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.r87.cf1.rackcdn.com/831028%20MT%20to%20Maxwell-Hyslop%20LATE%20LETTER%20-%20THCR%203-2-126%20f27.pdf]
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<b>1991 June</b> Thatcher gives a speech to Philip Morris lawyers at a conference in Colorado, and begins a financial relationship with the company.
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<b.1991 Aug 27</b> Murray Bring at Philip Morris follows up with Mark Thatcher following 'a productive and enjoyable' meeting in New York. He has consulted with Hamish Maxwell (son of Tory Sir 'Sandy' Maxwell) and they would like to proceed with a consulting arrangement with Mrs Thatcher. They want four meetings with the Board an senior management + some ad hoc consultations for advice on EC matters, etc. [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/shjc0063]
<b>1991 Sep 2</b> Geoff BibleMurray Bring's handnotes of a preliminary meeting with Mark Thatcher about Philip Morris's possible participation in the Margaret Thatcher Foundation and also of her consultancy work. Points discussed were:
* Thatcher to speak at 3, 5, or 6 occasions. She was to be transported in the Philip Morris Gulf-stream jet. (they need to look into availability)
* She will be in Europe on June 1st, and Paris on 3rd (looks OK)
* (??) to be used in schools re ethics and (???)
* 5 documents re History of the 20th Century. How it will impact on the 21st Century, (Can we participate) [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/thjc0063] <font color=green>
: This appears to confirm that Thatcher was to receive $250,000 for personal consulting, and that Philip Morris was being asked to fund the foundation to a similar amount, up to half-a-million, depending on their participation in documentaries, etc. It also confirms that 80% of any grant to the Foundation would also remain under the company's control (with 20% going to overheads) and only be expended on specific projects approved by the company.: Note the confirmation details in a later note: [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/sqll0061]</font>
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Mark Thatcher advised me that the Foundation expects to be involved in a number of educational activities, and will also be heavily involved in environmental matters. He also indicated that we would be able to target our grant to <u>specific Foundation projects which would be approved by us in advance.</u></i></blockquote><font color=green>
: This leaves no doubt that Philip Morris had control over the allocation of their Foundation 'grant' money. Also, these negotiations appear to be quite separate from the later three-year consultancy agreement. </font>
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<b>1991 Oct 14</b> [[Geoffrey C Bible]] (PM International) and [[Ian C Sargeant]] (Director Corporate Affair Europe) meeting with Mrs Thatcher and Mark Thatcher over EEC Excise Tax problems. She didn't know there were still tobacco monopolies in Europe.
 
Philip Morris wanted to promote the idea that cheap Greek cigarettes were made from low-quality, high 'tar' tobacco and therefore unhealthy. She gave advice about how to get Minister Norman Lamont to actively seek to modify the EEC (ECOFIN) agreement. She advised them to lobby the chairman of key House of Commons Committees. Also the Prime Minister's office and Professor Bill Robinson in the Treasury. They start a campaign and get Conrad Black (owner of Daily Telegraph) to run a hard-hitting article.
 
Most of the meeting they were explaining the problems to her. A detailed note of this meeting was created by Sargeant, [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/jtxf0074]
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<b>1991 Nov 1</b> Murray Bring has been meeting with Mark Thatcher as the agent for Margeret Thatcher. Geoffrey Bible and Ian Sargent C Sargeant had recently met with her (presumably consulting on "important excise tax issue in the Common Market" (see below). She was offering her consulting services (not associated with the Foundation) [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/zqcv0073]
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<b>1992 Mar 30</b> Philip Morris sent their Gulfstream jet to pick her up from Texas for her dinner with the Board of Directors in New York [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/rhgp0149]
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<b>1992 Apr 15</b> A meeting by Geoff Bible with Thatcher and her son in Chicago (on April 4), had been followed by a quick visit of PM executives to Turkey where the had "''a wonderful outcome from our discussion with Prime Minister Demitel and now look to Turkey with renewed optimism and vigour."'' [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/prcv0073]
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<b>1992 May 1</b> Philip Morris Senior VP and general counsel [[Murray H Bring]] has been advised by Mark Thatcher that she will be available for dinner with the Board of Directors (which includes two old friends, Hamish Maxwell, the son of Sir Alexander ('Sandy') Maxwell of the British Tory party, and Rupert Murdoch). Bring discusses whether they want to establish a precedent by flying her to the meeting by corporate debt (presumably she had already tentatively agreed to work with them, and they didn't want to be stuck with flying a corporate jet across the Atlantic at her beck and call) [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/rrcv0073]
<b>1992 June 5</b> Thatcher is giving a speech to Philip Morris European executives in Lausanne Switzerland. Geoff Bible and the other executives met with both Margaret and <u>Mark Thatcher </u> in Lausanne, . He is setting up their meetings. [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bzn80c00/pdf] [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gzn80c00/pdf] [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/fzn80c00/pdf] [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/jscv0073]
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<b>1992 July 19</b> The UK ''Sunday Times'' article by their Insight team: "Thatcher gets $1m job with top US tobacco firm." says the final details of the contract are still to be worked out and would be signed "shortly. She became a roving ambassador for Philip Morris (an "ad hoc consultant on geopolitical issues"). At this time the communist companies were changing and the company was frantically trying to get their toe-hold in Eastern European and Asian countries which had previously had only state-owned cigarette monopolies.
<b>1992 Nov 25</b> Philip Morris is paying for Margaret Thatcher's trip to Japan to speak at a meeting with Senior Management of PM International and PM Asia/Pacific region (Colleen Flinn is Legal Administrator for [[Alex Holtzman]] at PM; Clare Lowther is Thatcher's diary secretary)
Note the inverted Fax line at the bottom. [[Chesham Place Associates]] which is Thatcher's office and fax address. On Dec 11 they paid British Airways £ 5,288 for the airfares for Thatcher and her companion. [: https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/gsll0061]
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<b> Margaret Thatcher and her son Mark have been lobbying on behalf of Philip Morris in Azerbaijan. Philip Morris are concerned about a BBC TV program "World in Action". It points out that...<blockquote> ... when Prime Minister, Lady Thatcher said "Smoking Kills" and now regularly meets with Foreign Governments to persuade them to lower trade barriers to, among other things Marlboro.
 
Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Azerbaijan are featured. Allegations of attempts to circumvent advertising restrictions abound. Some use is made of PM internal memoranda, including one which is supposed to list those areas of the world where Lady Thatcher could be helpful. The conclusion of the programme is that Lady Thatcher has been paid to further views which she did not necessarily espouse when in Government. It even suggests that she is hardly supporting Britain when Phillip Morris succeeds in Azerbaijan against British-American Tobacco. The link here is made with a visit by her son Mark Thatcher. [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/rkdl0130] </blockquote>
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Thatcher. The Foundation promotes the "principles of economic freedom and democracy in Eastern Europe and Russia. [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/pqdx0093]
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<B>1996 Jan 20</b> The Times of London reported that Mark Thatcher is now driving cross-desert races in cars carrying tobacco industry brand names. The most prominent race was funded by RJ Reynolds and known as the "Camel Trophy." "''Some think it an ingenious form of tobacco peddling, some a holiday, some a race, and a few merely an excuse for Mark Thatcher clones to make their mothers anxious"'' [http://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/jykn0013]
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<b>1996 Mar 25</b>Philip Morris was getting numerous questions from journalists around the world about their contractual relationship with Margaret Thatcher. [[Collen O Flinn]] or PM talked to Thatcher's office and they decided to say that: "''No formal consultancy relationship"'' existed between PM and Thatcher. (The contract had expired in December and was not renewed) [[https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/shjh0053] [https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/thjh0053 ]
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<b>1996</b> Mark Thatcher moved to South Africa following financial scandals; the failure of a security alarm business in the US and a prosecution for tax evasion,
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<b>1998</b> Mark Thatcher was investigated by South African police over a money-lending business to police officers. He counter-claimed that officers working for him as agents had defrauded him and the investigation was eventually dropped.
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<b>1999</b> Philip Morris elected [[J Dudley Fishburn]] to its Board. He had been parliamentary private secretary to both Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He was also the executive editor of ''The Economist'' for 9 years. He had graduated from both Eton and Harvard (1968).
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<b>1999 Oct 13</b>Philip Morris finally launched a major advertising campaign and website admitting cigarettes were dangerous. [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/myg47c00/pdf]
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:: <font color="purple"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; In 2003 her son became '''Sir Mark Thatcher''' when he succeeded to the Thatcher baronetcy, a hereditary title given to his father in 1990. In 2004 the ''Sunday Times'' estimated his wealth at £60 million, most in offshore accounts, and then . Then in 2005 he was given a four-year suspended jail sentence and fine in South Africa over the Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt in 2004. He was divorced , and his wife returned to the USA with their two children. He However he is barred from entering the USA.</font>
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