Dr. Kheiri el-Saghir Abu Laqma of Libya was elected as the speaker of the Federal National Assembly, [1][11][12] In his inaugural speech in March 1972 Abu Laqma hailed the Federation of Arab Republics as a step towards Pan-Arab unity.[13] Abu Laqma was later replaced by fellow Libyan Bashir al-Rabiti as speaker of the assembly.[14][15]