Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand
abbreviation: NZ
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Wellington
Administrative divisions:
16 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's
Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki,
Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast
Dependent areas:
Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau
Independence:
26 September 1907 (from UK)
National holiday:
Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty
over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)
Constitution:
consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of
the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986
which is the principal formal charter
Legal system:
based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts
for the Maori; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4
April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December
1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA July 2002)
cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition
is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy
prime minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament
(120 seats; 69 members elected by popular vote in single-member
constituencies including 7 Maori constituencies, and 51 proportional
seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8,
other 2
Judicial branch:
High Court; Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders:
ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New
Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana
Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS
and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [Don BRASH]; New Zealand First
Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP
[Helen CLARK]; United Future or UF [Peter DUNNE]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August
1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
Australia Group, C, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD,
OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador L. John WOOD
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227
telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington
mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, APO AP
96531-1034
telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000
FAX: [64] (4) 472-3478
consulate(s) general: Auckland
Flag description:
blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with
four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer
half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross
constellation