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Cook Islands:
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Other pages in this profile of the Cook Islands:
Geography, People, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
Geography, People, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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Country name |
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Cook Islands former: Harvey Islands |
Dependency status |
self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands |
Government type |
self-governing parliamentary democracy |
Capital |
name: Avarua geographic coordinates: 21 12 S, 159 46 W time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Administrative divisions |
none |
Independence |
none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action) |
National holiday |
Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965) |
Constitution |
4 August 1965 |
Legal system |
based on New Zealand law and English common law |
Suffrage |
NA years of age; universal (adult) |
Executive branch |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since 6 September 2005), representative of New Zealand head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Terepai MAOATE (since 9 August 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Legislative branch |
bicameral Parliament consisting of a Legislative Assembly (or lower house) (25 seats, 24 seats representing districts of the Cook Islands, 1 seat representing Cook Islanders living overseas; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a House of Ariki (or upper house) made up of traditional leaders note: the House of Ariki advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence but has no legislative powers elections: last held 26 September 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Demo 51.9%, CIP 45.5%, independent 2.7%; seats by party - Demo 15, CIP 8, independent 1 |
Judicial branch |
High Court |
Political parties and leaders |
Cook Islands Party or CIP [Henry PUNA]; Democratic Party or Demo [Dr. Terepai MAOATE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders |
NA |
International organization participation |
ACP, AsDB, FAO, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IOC, ITUC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Diplomatic representation in the US |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation from the US |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
Flag description |
blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag |
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Copyright 2008 World Sites Atlas (sitesatlas.com) |