Margaret Thatcher's visit to Poland (November 2-4, 1988) in the light of the documents of the Foreign Office. Wizyta Margaret Thatcher w Polsce (2-4 listopada 1988 r.) w świetle dokumentów brytyjskiego Foreign Office

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the circumstances, preparations, course and assessment of the visit of the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, to Poland on November 2–4, 1988. It was the first visit of a leader of a Western power to Poland after the introduction of the martial law in December 1981 and the first visit of a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the history of British-Polish relations. Therefore, the analyzed event should be treated as an important moment in the process of overcoming the political isolation in which the communist authorities of Poland found themselves after the “Solidarity” crisis of 1980–1981. Moreover, the visit took place at a critical moment in Polish history: three months before the start of the Round Table Talks (February–April 1989), when the fate of this project seemed to be very uncertain. In these circumstances Margaret Thatcher’s aim was not only to develop bilateral relations between the countries but also to support the Polish opposition (Solidarity movement) and to put pressure on the Polish government to start the negotiations as well as to dynamize the whole process of the democratization. The article is based primarily on the sources available in the National Archives (Kew, London).