Thatcher Deputy Whitelaw Quits for Health Reasons

Lord William Whitelaw, the powerful deputy to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, resigned from the Cabinet for health reasons Sunday, less than a month after he suffered a minor stroke.

Whitelaw, 69, also resigned from his post as government leader in the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, a Thatcher spokesman said.

Whitelaw had been a leading member of the ruling Conservative Party since 1958. He was intensely loyal to Thatcher and wielded great--if hidden--influence in Britain’s No. 2 government post, political analysts said.

They said his resignation came as a serious blow to the government as it prepared to face a new session in the House of Lords in its campaign to push through Thatcher’s far-reaching plans to revamp Britain’s education and local taxation system.

Thatcher, who won power from Labor in 1979, had edged out Whitelaw as Conservative Party leader in 1975.

‘Good Old Willie’

But afterward, “good old Willie”--as his political allies call him--became her deputy and one of her closest advisers.

Thatcher’s office, which announced the resignation, said she was honoring Whitelaw by not appointing a replacement to his post as deputy prime minister.

“The position of deputy prime minister was unique to you for your unique qualities and comes to an end with your service,” she said in a statement.

Whitelaw suffered a minor stroke before Christmas and was hospitalized for about a week. His doctors had advised him to resign for health reasons, Thatcher’s office said.

In his long career, Whitelaw also held the Cabinet posts of home and employment secretary and his resignation means that Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe--by virtue of his Foreign Office portfolio--automatically becomes the No. 2 man in the Cabinet.

Whitelaw’s position as leader of the government in the House of Lords will be taken by his deputy, Lord John Belstead, a government spokesman said. Whitelaw will remain deputy leader of the Conservative Party.