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April 12th, 2013 
FORMER prime minister John Howard has been named Australia’s official representative at Margaret Thatcher’s funeral.
Baroness Thatcher died on Monday at the age of 87, and will be buried next Wednesday at a ceremonial funeral with military honours.
Mr Howard had already been invited to attend the service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London as one of 24 members of the Order of Merit (OM).
The former Liberal prime minister received the rare insignia at Buckingham Palace in May last year.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday confirmed Mr Howard would also be attending as Australia’s official representative.
“I have invited the Honourable John Howard OM AC to represent the government and people of Australia at the funeral service,” Ms Gillard said in a statement on Friday.
“Mr Howard has kindly agreed.”
Mr Howard, who was opposition leader at the same time Baroness Thatcher was in government, said this week the former British PM transformed her country.
“She is the greatest British prime minister since Churchill,” Mr Howard told Melbourne radio on Tuesday.
Ms Gillard said out of all of Australia’s former prime ministers, Mr Howard had the “deepest connection” to Baroness Thatcher.
“It was the appropriate thing for him to represent the nation at the funeral,” she told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
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