More importantly from the perspective of constitutional history, the States General also embarked on a program of institutional innovation. Previously, the States General only were in session for a few weeks at most. To facilitate its governance in permanent session, they appointed a rotating presidency. The president, selected from one of the provincial delegations, assisted by one or two of the pensionaries, would preside over the meetings for a week at a time. This system continued during the later Dutch Republic and the pensionaries began acting as an executive committee of the States General.