The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook,who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777,although Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendaña was the first European to reach the islands in 1595. The Cook Islands became aligned to the United Kingdom in 1890,largely because of the fear of British residents that France might occupy the islands as it already had Tahiti.
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch of New Zealand,represented in the Cook Islands by the King or Queen's Representative,was the Head of State;the prime minister is the head of government of a multi-party system. The nation is self-governing and are fully responsible for internal and foreign affairs. Since 2001,the Cook Islands has run its own foreign and defence policy. 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.
Ātiu,also known as ʻEnuamanu,is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago,lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru,it is 214 km (133 mi) northeast of Rarotonga. The population of the 26.9 square kilometres (10.4 sq mi) island has dropped by two-thirds in the last 50 years.
Rakahanga is part of the Cook Islands,situated in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. The unspoilt atoll is 1,248 kilometres from the Cook Islands' capital,Rarotonga,and lies 1,111 kilometres south of the equator. Its nearest neighbour is Manihiki which is just 44 kilometres away. Rakahanga's area is 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi). Its highest point is approximately 5 metres above sea level. The population was 83 in the 2016 Census of Population &Dwellings,with a density ratio of 32 people per square kilometer. Since 2014 Rakahanga's electicity has been 100% solar generated. The Rakahanga-Manihiki language differs from Cook Islands Maori.
The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand’s United Nations mandate it became the national legislature on independence in 1965.
The Kingdom of Rarotonga,named after the island of Rarotonga,was an independent kingdom established in the present-day Cook Islands in 1858. In 1888 it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom at its own request. In 1893 the name was changed to the Cook Islands Federation.
The House of Ariki is a parliamentary body in the Cook Islands. It is composed of Cook Islands high chiefs (ariki),appointed by the King's Representative. While it functions in a similar way to the House of Lords and the Senate of Canada,the country's parliament is officially unicameral. There are up to twenty-four members,representing different islands of the Cooks.
An ariki,ꞌariki,aliki,ali‘i,ari'i,Rotuma) aiki or hakaiki,akariki or ‘eiki (Tonga) is or was a member of a hereditary chiefly or noble rank in Polynesia.
Makea Takau Ariki was a sovereign of the Cook Islands. She was the ariki (queen) of the dynasty Makea Nui,one of the three chiefdoms of the tribe Te Au O Tonga on the island of Rarotonga.
George Maggie Angene is a Cook Islands politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a former member of the Cook Islands Party,and is now a member of the One Cook Islands Movement.
Legislative Council elections were held in the Cook Islands in 1947,the first after the establishment of the new legislature.
Tararo Jane Ariki II was a Cook Islands chiefess and politician. An ariki of Mauke island,she was also the first woman to become a member of the islands' Legislative Council.
Papa Raui Pokoati was a Cook Islands politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly for his home island of Mitiaro between 1965 and 1978.
Vainerere Tangatapoto was a Cook Islands chief,educator and politician. He served as member of the Legislative Assembly in two spells between 1958 and 1983.
Taru Moana was a Cook Islands chief and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1965 to 1974.
Tingika Elikana is a Cook Islands civil servant,politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.
Dame Margaret Makea Karika Ariki,also known as Pauline Margaret Rakera George Karika and Pauline Margaret Rakera Taripo,was a Cook Islands ariki and holder of the Makea Karika Ariki title from 1949 to 2017. She was President of the House of Ariki from 1978 to 1980,and again from 1990 to 1992. She also served in the Legislative Assembly from 1958 to 1961.
Ada Rongomatane Ariki,also known as Ada Teaupurepure Tetupu Nicholls,was a Cook Islands ariki. She held the title of Rongomatane Ariki,the principal title of the Paruarangi tribe on the island of Atiu. She served as President of the House of Ariki from 2006 to December 2008.
