Post by Salem6 on Jul 18, 2005 5:04:19 GMT
Former Conservative prime minister Sir Edward Heath has died at the age of 89.
His successor Lady Thatcher said he was a "political giant" and "in every sense the first modern Conservative leader".
Sir Edward, who was knighted in 1992, won his first seat for the Tories in Bexley in 1950 and led the 1970-74 Conservative Government.
He took Britain into the European Economic Community and sent troops to Northern Ireland. His leadership was lost to Margaret Thatcher in 1975.
Lady Thatcher said he was the first modern leader for the party, "by his humble background, by his grammar school education and by the fact of his democratic election".
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4691051.stm