(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121220-thatcher-220p.photoblog600.jpg)Suzanne Plunkett / AFPFormer Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on June 8, 2010.By NBC News wire servicesFormer British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the country's first woman elective leader, is in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a growth on her bladder, a source close to the family said on Friday.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld)After experiencing pain in her bladder earlier in the week, the 87-year-old went to hospital where she underwent a minimally invasive operation, Tim Bell, a public relations executive who once served as image maker to Thatcher, said.
"The operation was completely satisfactory. She's now recovering in hospital and as soon as she's recovered she'll go home," Bell said.
Known as the "Iron Lady," Thatcher, who stepped down in 1990, embraced free market policies, challenged trade unions and privatized many state-owned companies during her 11 years in power, polarizing British voters.
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