The Protectorate
The post of Lord Protector was created by a constitution passed in December 1653, which gave Cromwell the position for life. Although the constitution divided power between the Lord Protector, the Council of State and Parliament, there was in practice again the strong executive power that had been absent since the end of the monarchy. Cromwellian government has been called 'one of the first experiments in (de facto) military dictatorship' (Abbott).