New Zealand is an island country and a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, comprising the North Island and the South Island, among others. The country's constitution is unwritten, found in formal legal documents, court decisions, and conventions. The Head of State is the King of New Zealand, King Charles III, represented by a politically neutral Governor-General. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister, who leads the executive branch.
The human history of New Zealand, or Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) in the Māori language, began with the settlement by Polynesians between 1320 and 1350 CE. The modern state was formally established on 6 February 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between representatives of the United Kingdom and various Māori chiefs. This treaty is considered the nation's founding document, establishing British law while guaranteeing Māori authority over their land and culture. New Zealand gained full independence from Britain with the passage of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in 1947.
The mechanism of government is a representative democracy with a single-chamber legislature, the House of Representatives, whose members are elected for a maximum three-year term. Elections use the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system, which often necessitates coalitions or agreements between parties to form a government. Key constitutional documents include the Constitution Act 1986, which formally recognizes the King as the Head of State.
New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. It is a persistent lobbyist for international trade liberalization and participates in organizations like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC). Its foreign policy is notably independent, particularly due to its nuclear-free stance, which led to its suspension from the ANZUS treaty in the 1980s.
Recently, the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 came into force on 20 December 2025, making changes to the Electoral Act 1993 to improve the resilience and integrity of elections, such as setting the advance voting period at 12 calendar days. Additionally, the Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced to amend Section 6 of the Constitution Act 1986, removing the "28-day rule" to ensure Ministers of the Crown remain in office until new Members of Parliament are appointed after an election. The government has also committed to replacing the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) with two new pieces of legislation, the Natural Environment Act and the Planning Act, by the end of 2025.