viewed it as a compromise imposed on the Irish by their inability to achieve full independence through military means: Michael Collins, the republican leader who had led the Irish negotiating team, argued that it gave "not the ultimate freedom that all nations aspire and develop, but the freedom to achieve freedom." The Treaty was fiercely debated in the Second Dáil, the Irish Republic's revolutionary parliament. Éamon de Valera, the Republic's President, opposed the proposed dominion status for Ireland; instead, he advocated for a relationship he called external association, under which Ireland would be "associated" with the rest of the British Commonwealth and would "recognise His Britannic Majesty as head of the Association" — but not as Ireland's King or head of state. Nevertheless, the Dáil narrowly approved the treaty, and de Valera resigned in protest. Pro-Treaty forces won the ensuing election and civil war, and the Free State's new constitution incorporated the monarchial elements mandated by the Treaty. Irish Free State The new Irish Free State thus established was a form of constitutional monarchy, a Dominion with the same monarch as the United Kingdom and other states within the British Commonwealth. Under its constitution, the King had functions that included the exercise of executive authority of the state, the appointment of the cabinet, the dissolution of the legislature, and the promulgation of laws. However, all of these were delegated to a representative called the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. The representative's title was not actually specified in the Treaty, and Collins considered a number of alternatives, including Commissioner of the British Commonwealth and President of Ireland. However, the Free State government ultimately settled on governor-general because it was the same title used by the corresponding officials in other Dominions. The office's Irish language title was , meaning "high steward", which was later used in English. As was the case in all Dominions, by convention the governor-general acted on the advice of elected officials. For the most part, this advice came from Irish officials, and on a day-to-day basis the governor-general played a ceremonial role in the Irish Free State similar to the one the King played in the United Kingdom. (Notably, the head of government, who in practice held the most powerful position in the State, held the title President of the Executive Council rather than Prime Minister as in other Dominions.) At the Free State's inception, however, the