Margaret Thatcher spotlighted in new exhibition at Reagan Library

The alliance between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan was one of the most enduring political friendships of the past 50 years. The former British prime minister and the decades-long relationship between the two families are the subject of a new exhibition that the Reagan Library and Museum will present starting Tuesday at its location in Simi Valley.

A spokeswoman for the organization said the small exhibition will include photographs as well as an assortment of Thatcher-related objects, including a portrait painting by artist Richard Stone, and various gifts exchanged by the Thatcher and Reagan families.

The exhibition is scheduled to stay up for four to six weeks, the spokeswoman said.

PHOTOS: Margaret Thatcher | 1925 - 2013

Thatcher, who died on Monday at 87, served as prime minister from 1979 to 1990, a period that encompassed Reagan’s two terms in the White House. The two leaders saw eye to eye in their determination to fight communism, champion the free market and promote conservative values.

The photos in the exhibit come from the Reagan Library archives. They include an album of pictures taken during President and Nancy Reagan’s visit to Great Britain in June 1982. (Some photos of the two leaders are viewable online at the Reagan Foundation.) There is also a condolence book for Thatcher that visitors to the Reagan Library can sign.

In a statement issued Monday, Nancy Reagan praised the former British prime minister: “It is well known that my husband and Lady Thatcher enjoyed a very special relationship as leaders of their respective countries during one of the most difficult and pivotal periods in modern history. Ronnie and Margaret were political soul mates, committed to freedom and resolved to end Communism.”

Thatcher attended the state funeral service for Reagan in Washington in 2004.

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