The Instrument of Government of 1653 was the first, and only, written constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, drafted by Major-General John Lambert during the interregnum that followed the English Civil Wars. It vested supreme legislative authority jointly in a Lord Protector, a position held for life but not hereditary, and a Parliament, which was required to meet at least once every three years for a minimum session of five months, while an English Council of State of roughly twenty members had to consent to major executive decisions including the use of the armed forces and declarations of war. Oliver Cromwell became the first Lord Protector under its terms on 16 December 1653. The document authorized a standing army of ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry plus naval forces, and it barred Royalists and Catholics from voting in elections. It was replaced in May 1657 by the Humble Petition and Advice.
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