Al-Samarraie, a member of the parliament's finance committee, received 153 votes - far ahead of the runner-up candidate with just 36 votes. He will succeed Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who resigned Dec.
23 amid widespread complaints about his erratic behavior.
Under Iraq's political system, the speaker post goes to a Sunni Arab. But the main Sunni bloc could not agree on a candidate until al-Samarraie emerged as a compromise figure.
Al-Samarraie lived in Britain for decades during Saddam Hussein's rule and was part of the Iraqi exiles in contact with Washington before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"We will do our best to reform parliament and enable it to play a more active role," he said shortly after being elected.
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