Theresa May takes over as British Prime Minister

May, who has been interior minister for six years and is seen by her supporters as a safe pair of hands to steer the country through the disruptive Brexit process, will become Britain’s second woman prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.

“I think around the cabinet table yesterday the feeling was that we have our Angela Merkel.

“We have an incredibly tough, shrewd, determined and principled person to lead Brexit negotiations for Britain,’’ Jeremy Hunt, health secretary in Cameron’s team said.

German Chancellor Merkel would be May’s most important counterpart on the continent as the Brexit process unfolds.

Report says both women are renowned for their firmness, pragmatism and discipline.

Britain’s decision to leave has rocked the bloc it joined 43 years ago, and thrown decades of European integration into reverse.

Cameron, who led the “Remain” campaign, announced the morning after the June 23 referendum that he would stand down, triggering a leadership contest in the ruling Conservative Party.

The contest had been due to last until September but ended unexpectedly on Monday when May’s last rival pulled out.

However it added that Cameron would make his way to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth.