New Zealand Government

What is the capital of New Zealand?

Country Name	New Zealand
Full Country Name	none
Abbreviation	NZ
Etymology- history of name	Dutch explorer Abel TASMAN was the first European to reach New Zealand in 1642; he named it Staten Landt, but Dutch cartographers renamed it Nova Zeelandia in 1645 after the Dutch province of Zeeland; British explorer Captain James COOK subsequently anglicized the name to New Zealand when he mapped the islands in 1769
Government Type	parliamentary democracy (New Zealand Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital Name	Wellington
Capital - geographic coordinate	41 18 S, 174 47 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) note: New Zealand has two time zones - New Zealand standard time (12 hours in advance of UTC), and Chatham Islands time (45 minutes in advance of New Zealand standard time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in September; ends first Sunday in April
Independence	26 September 1907 (from the UK)
National Holiday	Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915)
Constitution	Constitution Act 1986 (the principal formal charter) adopted and effective 1 January 1987; amended 1999, 2005, 2014

New Zealand Capital City Map

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New Zealand Government and Politics

Who is the president of New Zealand?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor-General Dame Patricia Lee REDDY (since 28 September 2016) head of government: Prime Minister Jacinda ARDERN (since 26 October 2017); Deputy Prime Minister Winston PETERS (since 26 October 2017) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor-general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor-general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor-general; note - Prime Minister ARDERN heads up a minority coalition government consisting of the Labor and New Zealand First parties with confidence and supply support from the Green Party
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of New Zealand dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years
Legal System:	common law system, based on English model, with special legislation and land courts for the Maori
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (usually 120 seats; 71 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies, including 7 Maori constituencies, by simple majority vote and 49 directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms) elections: last held on 23 September 2017 (next to be held by November 2020) election results: percent of vote by party - National Party 44.5%, Labor Party 36.9%, NZ First 7.2%, Green Party 6.3%, ACT Party 0.5%; seats by party - National Party 56, Labor Party 46, NZ First 9, Green Party 8, ACT Party 1; composition - men 74, women 46, percent of women 38.3%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 5 justices including the chief justice); note - the Supreme Court in 2004 replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London as the final appeals court judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the attorney-general; justices appointed for life subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; tribunals and authorities; district courts; specialized courts for issues related to employment, environment, Maori lands, and military
Regions or States:	16 regions and 1 territory; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Chatham Islands, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Wellington, West Coast
Political Parties and Leaders:	ACT New Zealand [Rodney HIDE] Green Party [Russel NORMAN and Metiria TUREI] Jim Anderton's Progressive Party [James (Jim) ANDERTON] Mana Party [Hone HARAWIRA] Maori Party [Tariana TURIA and Dr. Pita SHARPLES] New Zealand First Party or NZ First [Winston PETERS] New Zealand Labor Party [Phil GOFF] New Zealand National Party [John KEY] United Future New Zealand [Peter DUNNE]
International Law Organization Participation:	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ADB, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF, SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Timothy John GROSER (since 28 January 2016) chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227[1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Honolulu (HI), Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Mark GILBERT (since 9 February 2015) note - also accredited to Samoa 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) 499-0490 consulate(s) general: Auckland

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