I think the football equivalent would be Alex ferguson. Controversial / disliked but immense talent recognised even by enemies.
The greatest compliment I can pay is she wiped the old British socialism of strikes and union bullies off the face of the earth. Even the Labour Party has since followed her polices. We can argue all we like but she was one of the greatest politicans in history and not just talking of the uk but the world. Much of the end of the Cold War and the freeing of millions in Eastern Europe was down to Margaret thatcher and the defeat of the IRA and the peace process started from that time.
She didn't defeat the IRA Stan sorry to tell you that.