Thatcher was a scientist, but no more an academic than most politicians.

She had a honors bachelors degree. An Oxford MA is awarded three years later on application, and is not an earned master’s degree. Unusually for a politician, it was a science degree (chemistry), and she worked in a lab at school and after school briefly, but she got a law degree later, which is a typical politician thing.

If that bachelor’s degree was in humanities, like almost all elected officials, no one would refer to her as an academic.

In contrast, Merkel earned a PhD, and some of these newly elected Serbian reps are long-time professors.