Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the conservative peer who was prime minister when Belize got its Independence from Britain, is dead at age 87, a UK Parliament statement announced today.

Official reports say that Baroness Thatcher, elected to serve as Britain’s first female prime minister in 1979, died on Monday, April 8, 2013, after suffering a stroke.

She will receive a ceremonial funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral with military honors, said the British High Commission in Belize. After the service, she will be privately cremated.

“All the arrangements being put in place are in line with wishes of Lady Thatcher’s family,” the Commission said.

It also informed that a book of condolence will be open at the High Commission in Belmopan from Tuesday, April 9, until Friday, April 12, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

“Many in the UK will be in mourning today for the loss of the longest serving Prime Minister of the 20th century and the first woman to reach that office,” High Commissioner Pat Ashworth said. “She left a unique and lasting impression on British politics.”

According to information published by the UK Parliament, Thatcher was prime minister for 11 years, leading the Conservatives to three general election victories, before resigning in 1990.

“In the House of Lords, Baroness Thatcher mainly participated in debates on foreign affairs,” it added.

Thatcher made her last speech in the House of Lords in the latter part of 1990.

“Today is a truly sad day for our country,” Prime Minister David Cameron said, in speaking of Thatcher’s passing. “We’ve lost a great prime minister, a great leader, a great Briton.”

He said that as Britain’s first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds.

“I believe she’ll go down as the greatest British peacetime Prime Minister,” he added.