 Seeking to diversify Libya's economy, Gaddafi's government began purchasing shares in major European corporations like Fiat as well as buying real estate in Malta and Italy, which would become a valuable source of income during the 1980s oil slump.On 2 March 1977, the General People's Congress adopted the "Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority" at Gaddafi's behest.Dissolving the Libyan Arab Republic, it was replaced by the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (, ")", a "state of the masses" conceptualized by Gaddafi.