The Vice-President of the Executive Council () was the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

of the 1922–37

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the ...

, and the second most senior member of the Executive Council ( cabinet). Formally the Vice-President was appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

on the nomination of the President of the Executive Council, but by convention the Governor-General could not refuse to appoint a vice-president whom the president had selected. The office of Vice President of the Executive Council was established with the establishment of the Free State in 1922. Under Article 53 of the Free State constitution the role of the vice president was to "act for all purposes in the place of the President", until the appointment of a successor in the event of his death, resignation or "permanent incapacity", or until his return in the event of his "temporary absence". However, in practice the vice president also held a second ministerial portfolio, whose duties he carried out when not called upon to become acting head of government. The president did not have the authority to advise the Governor-General to dismiss the vice president. Rather, as was the case with all other ministers, the entire Executive Council had to be dismissed and reformed if a president wanted to dismiss the vice president. While the

Ministry of Dáil Éireann Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

(1919–22) did not initially have a provision for a deputy president, when

President of Dáil Éireann President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

travelled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in June 1919, he requested by letter that Arthur Griffith be appointed as Deputy President in his absence. De Valera resumed his position in the Dáil on 25 January 1921. The

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

of the

(1922), did not have such a position. In 1937, when the new

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditio ...

came into force, the office of Vice-President of the Executive Council was replaced with that of

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Taoi ...

List of officeholders

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vice-President Of The Executive Council Of The Irish Free State Government in the Irish Free State

List of officeholders

See also

References