The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888.
The politics of the Cook Islands, an associated state, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the Queen's Representative, is the Head of State; the prime minister is the head of government and of a multi-party system. The Islands are self-governing in free association with New Zealand and are fully responsible for internal affairs. New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent years, the Cook Islands have taken on more of its own external affairs; as of 2005, it has diplomatic relations in its own name with eighteen other countries. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislatures.
An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted. The details of such free association are contained in United Nations General Assembly resolution 1541 (XV) Principle VI, a Compact of Free Association or Associated Statehood Act and are specific to the countries involved. In the case of the Cook Islands and Niue, the details of their free association arrangement are contained in several documents, such as their respective constitutions, the 1983 Exchange of Letters between the governments of New Zealand and the Cook Islands, and the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration. Free associated states can be described as independent or not, but free association is not a qualification of an entity's statehood or status as a subject of international law.
The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the head of government of the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands. Originally, the title "Premier" was used, but this was replaced by the title of "Prime Minister" in 1981.
The Realm of New Zealand is the entire area in which the Queen of New Zealand is head of state. The Realm of New Zealand is not a federation; it is a collection of states and territories united under its monarch. New Zealand is an independent and sovereign state. It has one Antarctic territorial claim, the Ross Dependency; one dependent territory, Tokelau; and two associated states, the Cook Islands and Niue.
The Cook Islands national rugby league team has been participating in international rugby league football competition since 1986. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Cook Islands, Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), which is currently a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC). They are currently ranked 43 in the RLIF World Rankings.
Scouts New Zealand, officially "The Scout Association of New Zealand" is the national Scouting association in New Zealand and an affiliate of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) since 1953. The Scout Association of New Zealand uses the name SCOUTS New Zealand. Scouts New Zealand has 15,476 members, with 4,740 volunteers.
Scouting and Guiding in Samoa exists as separate organisations for Scouts and Guides
The Cook Islands are a constitutional monarchy within the Realm of New Zealand. Under the Cook Islands Constitution, the Sovereign in Right of New Zealand has been Head of State of the Cook Islands since 4 August 1965. The Sovereign is represented by the Queen's Representative; as such, the Queen is the de jure head of state, holding several powers that are hers alone, while the Queen's Representative is sometimes referred to as the de facto head of state. The viceregal position is currently held by Tom Marsters.
The Cook Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the Cook Islands, who is in a free association with New Zealand, in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Cook Islands Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000 and an associate member in 2017. Its first international tournament was the 2001 edition of the Pacifica Cup, which was played in New Zealand. The Cook Islands have since featured regularly at ICC East Asia-Pacific tournaments, and at the 2006 EAP Trophy, finished second to Fiji and narrowly missing out on qualifying for the World Cricket League. Outside ICC tournaments, the Cook Islands fielded a team in the cricket tournament at the 2003 South Pacific Games, winning the bronze medal.
The Girl Guides Cook Islands Association is the national Guiding organization of the Cook Islands. It served 1,111 members. Founded in 1928, the girls-only organization became an associate member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1993 and a full member in 2014.
The Scout and Guide movement in the Cook Islands is served by
Cook Islanders are residents of the Cook Islands, which is composed of 15 islands and atolls in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Cook Islands Māori are a Polynesian ethnicity originating in the Cook Islands. These Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture and their own language.
Akava'ine is a Cook Islands Māori word which has come, since the 2000s, to refer to transgender people of Māori descent from the Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands compete as a part of netball's Oceania region. More than 1,000 players have registered to play the sport. Participation in the game grew during the 1970s. Much of this is possible because of the national governing organisation, the Cook Islands Netball Association which is a member of Oceania Netball Federation. Because of the level of organisation and the game's development, the country has participated at several international events including the Pacific Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Games, the Oceania Netball Tournament, the World Youth Netball Championship, and the International Challenge Men’s and Mixed Netball Tournament. A demonstration of the Cook Islands success can be found by looking at the national team: It is one of the top ranked in the world.
Netball in Oceania is generally regarded as a woman's sport. Women's sports in Oceania have traditionally had a very low profile. Despite this, netball is popular in Oceania, with its growth partly because of New Zealand encouraging the game and providing money for the training of coaches, umpires and other netball development needs. In New Zealand and in neighbouring Australia, netball is one of the most popular sports played by women.
The political status of the Cook Islands and Niue is formally defined as being states in free association within the Realm of New Zealand, which is made up of the Cook Islands, Niue, New Zealand and its territories: Tokelau and the Ross Dependency.
