Tokelau Government

What is the capital of Tokelau?

Country Name	Tokelau
Full Country Name	none
Etymology- history of name	"tokelau" is a Polynesian word meaning "north wind"
Government Type	parliamentary democratic dependency (General Fono); a territory of New Zealand
Capital Name	none; each atoll has its own administrative center
Capital Time Difference	UTC+13 (18 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence	none (territory of New Zealand)
National Holiday	Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840)
Constitution	many previous; latest effective 1 January 1949 (Tokelau Islands Act 1948); amended many times, last in 2007
Dependency Status	self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN-sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status

Tokelau Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Tokelau Government and Politics

Who is the president of Tokelau?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Governor General Dame Cindy KIRO (since 21 September 2021); New Zealand is represented by Administrator Ross ARDERN (since May 2018) head of government: (Ulu o Tokelau) Kelihiano KALOLO (since 8 March 2021); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) of the atolls cabinet: Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau (or Tokelau Council) functions as a cabinet; consists of 3 Faipule (village leaders) and 3 Pulenuku (village mayors) elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; head of government chosen from the Council of Faipule to serve a 1-year term note: the meeting place of the Tokelau Council rotates annually among the three atolls; this tradition has given rise to the somewhat misleading description that the capital rotates yearly between the three atolls; in actuality, it is the seat of the government councilors that rotates since Tokelau has no capital
Citizenship Criteria:	see New Zealand
Legal System:	common law system of New Zealand
Suffrage:	21 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral General Fono (20 seats apportioned by island - Atafu 7, Fakaofo 7, Nukunonu 6; members directly elected by simple majority vote to serve 3-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power to the General Fono elections: last held on 26 January 2023 depending on island (next to be held in January 2026) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 20; composition - men 17, women 3, percent of women 15%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Court of Appeal in New Zealand (consists of the court president and 8 judges sitting in 3- or 5-judge panels depending on the case) judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the Judicial Selection Committee and approved by three-quarters majority of the Parliament; judges appointed for life subordinate courts: High Court, in New Zealand; Council of Elders or Taupulega
Regions or States:	none (territory of New Zealand)
Political Parties and Leaders:	none
International Organization Participation:	PIF (associate member), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	none (territory of New Zealand)
Diplomatic Representation from US:	none (territory of New Zealand)

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