Executive
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | Elizabeth II | 6 February 1952 | |
| Queen's Representative | Sir Frederick Goodwin KBE | 9 February 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | Henry Puna | CIP | 30 November 2010 |
The monarch is hereditary; her representative is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Cook Islands Government. The cabinet is chosen by the prime minister and collectively responsible to Parliament.
Ten years of rule by the Cook Islands Party (CIP) came to an end 18 November 1999 with the resignation of Prime Minister Joe Williams. Williams had led a minority government since October 1999 when the New Alliance Party (NAP) left the government coalition and joined the main opposition Democratic Party (DAP). On 18 November 1999, DAP leader Dr. Terepai Maoate was sworn in as prime minister. He was succeeded by his co-partisan Robert Woonton. When Dr Woonton lost his seat in the 2004 elections, Jim Marurai took over. In the 2010 elections, the CIP regained power and Henry Puna was sworn in as prime minister on 30 November 2010.
Following uncertainty about the ability of the government to maintain its majority, the Queen's representative dissolved parliament mid-way through its term and a 'snap' election was held on 26 September 2006. Jim Marurai's Democratic Party retained the Treasury benches with an increased majority.
The New Zealand High Commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of The Cook Islands
Famous quotes containing the word executive:
“She isn’t harassed. She’s busy, and it’s glamorous to be busy. Indeed, the image of the on- the-go working mother is very like the glamorous image of the busy top executive. The scarcity of the working mother’s time seems like the scarcity of the top executive’s time.... The analogy between the busy working mother and the busy top executive obscures the wage gap between them at work, and their different amounts of backstage support at home.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)
“... the wife of an executive would be a better wife had she been a secretary first. As a secretary, you learn to adjust to the boss’s moods. Many marriages would be happier if the wife would do that.”
—Anne Bogan, U.S. executive secretary. As quoted in Working, book 1, by Studs Terkel (1973)
“One point in my public life: I did all I could for the reform of the civil service, for the building up of the South, for a sound currency, etc., etc., but I never forgot my party.... I knew that all good measures would suffer if my Administration was followed by the defeat of my party. Result, a great victory in 1880. Executive and legislature both completely Republican.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)