change in monarch, and de Valera's government decided to use this opportunity to drastically change the constitution. The Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, swiftly passed by the Oireachtas in response to the abdication, abolished the post of Governor-General and transferred most of the monarch's functions to other organs of government. Thus, for example, the executive power was transferred directly to the Executive Council, the right to appoint the President of the Executive Council was explicitly vested in Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), and the power to promulgate legislation was transferred to the Ceann Comhairle (chairman of the Dáil). However, the constitutional amendment also provided, without mentioning the monarch specifically, for the state to be represented by him in external affairs with other countries and their representatives: The nations referred to in Article 1 were the other members of the British Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom). The External Relations Act, adopted shortly after the constitutional amendment, gave life to this provision by providing that: Thus, for the remaining year of the Irish Free State's existence, the king's role was restricted to diplomatic and foreign affairs — a standard head of state role — but he performed no formal duties in regards to domestic legislation or governance. The Act also recognized Edward's abdication and the accession of his brother as George VI. 1937: Constitution of Ireland In 1937 a new Constitution was adopted on the proposal of Éamon de Valera, establishing the contemporary Irish state named or, in the English language, Ireland. It did not describe or declare the state to be a republic, or use descriptions such as Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic. The new constitution filled the gap left by the abolition of the Governor-General by creating the post of a directly elected president of Ireland, who would "take precedence over all other persons in the State", but was not explicitly described as head of state. The president was henceforth responsible for the ceremonial functions of dissolving the legislature, appointing the government, and promulgating the law. Unlike most heads of state in parliamentary systems, the president was not even the nominal chief executive. Instead, the role of exercising executive authority was explicitly granted to the government—in practice, to the Taoiseach, a role similar to the Free State constitution's President of the Executive Council. The constitution also, like the 1922