Alan Walters, economic aide to UK's Thatcher, dies

This is a Oct. 19, 1996 file photo of Professor Sir Alan Walters who has died at the age of 82. Sir Alan Walters, a top economic adviser to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, died on Saturday, Jan 3, 2009. his wife Margaret Patricia Walters said. (AP Photo/Fiona Hanson/PA/file)

LONDON—Sir Alan Walters, a top economic adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has died at age 82.

His wife, Margaret Patricia Walters, said her husband died Saturday after suffering from Parkinson's Disease for seven years. The couple celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary on Dec. 27.

Thatcher, who has also been in poor health recently, released a statement praising Walters for his acumen and loyalty.

"Alan Walters was the best economic adviser any Prime Minister ever had -- radical, fearless, consistent and creative," she said. "He was a great public servant and, to me personally, he was the truest of friends."

Walters persuaded Thatcher to take one of her biggest risks by raising taxes during a recession in 1981. The decision was later credited with helping to lay the foundation for Britain's sustained growth in the 1990s.

An outspoken aide, Walters also played a key role in the 1989 resignation of British Chancellor Nigel Lawson-- an event that eventually helped lead to Thatcher's political demise. Lawson accused Walters of interfering in Treasury matters and resigned when Thatcher refused to remove Walters from his advisory post.

Walters, who was skeptical about Britain seeking an increased financial union with mainland Europe, clashed repeatedly with Lawson over the direction of economic policy. He called plans for Britain to join the European Monetary Union "half baked."

Walters also left the government right after Lawson's departure, and Thatcher -- politically hurt by the fight -- was forced from office a year later.

Walters went on to pursue a lengthy career in the private sector and working in academic fields. He later joined the U.S. insurance firm AIG Trading Group as a vice chairman.

Walters received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 1983.

Born into a working-class family in 1926, Walters worked in a munitions factory and a surveyor's office before attending Nuffield College at Oxford. He taught economics in Britain and the United States before moving into senior government posts.

Walters is survived by his wife and a daughter, Louise, from a previous marriage. He is also survived by two grandchildren.