Mirza is a nominee from Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of the assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, which won most votes in the February 18 parliamentary election.

"A woman could be a best speaker of the National Assembly as this slot demands tolerance," Mirza told reporters Tuesday.

Fifty-two-year-old Mirza was elected as a parliament member in the February 18 elections for the third consecutive term from Badin district of southern Sindh province.

She is wife of Zulfiqar Mirza, who is a close aide of the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and was also elected member of provincial assembly in Sindh.

Mirza is an agriculturist and businesswoman by profession, although she is a medical graduate.

Newly elected speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly Fahmida Mirza presides over a session after her election at Parliament House in Islamabad March 19, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2008)