Page "President of Ireland" Paragraph 53

During the period of 1937 to 1949 it was unclear whether the Irish head of state was actually the President of Ireland or George VI, the King of Ireland.

This period of confusion ended in 1949 when the state was declared to be a republic.

The 1937 constitution did not mention the king ; but nor did it state that the President was head of state, saying rather that the President " shall take precedence over all other persons in the State ".

The President exercised some powers that could be exercised by heads of state but which could also be exercised by governors or governors-general, such as appointing the Government and promulgating the law.

However, in 1936 George VI had been declared " King of Ireland " and, under the External Relations Act of the same year, it was this king who represented the state in its foreign affairs.

Treaties, therefore, were signed in the name of the ' King of Ireland ', who also accredited ambassadors and received the letters of credence of foreign diplomats.

Representing a state abroad is seen by many scholars as the key characteristic of a head of state.

This role meant, in any case, that George VI was the Irish head of state in the eyes of foreign nations.

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force in April 1949, proclaimed a republic and transferred the role of representing the state abroad from George VI to the President.

No change was made to the constitution.