Niue

Niue (pronounced: "new-way") is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as "Rock of Polynesia". The natives call it the Rock. Although it is self-governing, it is in free association with New Zealand. more...

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This means that the sovereign in right of New Zealand is also the head of state of Niue, and most diplomatic relations are conducted by New Zealand on Niue's behalf. Niue is located 2,400 kilometres north-east of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands.

History

European involvement in Niue began in 1774 with Captain James Cook's sighting (landing was refused) of what he named "Savage Island". Legend has it that Cook so named the island because the natives that "greeted" him were painted in what appeared to Cook and his crew to be blood.

The next major arrival was the London Missionary Society in 1846. Niue was briefly a protectorate, the UK's involvement being passed on in 1901 when New Zealand annexed the island. Independence in the form of self-government was granted by the New Zealand parliament in the 1974 constitution.

In January of 2004, Niue was hit by the fierce tropical storm Cyclone Heta which killed two people, caused extensive damage to the entire island, and wiped out most of South Alofi.

Niue has licensed the .nu top-level domain on the internet to a private company, but the company and the government of Niue now dispute the amount and type of compensation that Niue receives from the licensor.

Politics

The Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ) vests executive authority in Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand and the Governor-General of New Zealand. The constitution specifies that in everyday practice, it is exercised by a Cabinet of the Premier of Niue and three other ministers. The premier and ministers must be members of the Niue Assembly, the nation's legislative assembly.

The assembly consists of twenty democratically elected members, fourteen by the electors of village constituencies. The remaining six are elected the same way, except several constituencies are combined for each seat. Electors must be New Zealand citizens, resident for at least three months, and candidates must have been electors, resident for twelve months. The speaker is elected from among the members.

Geography

Niue is a 269 km² island located in the southern Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga. The geographic cordinates of Niue are 19°03′48″S, 169°52′11″W.

There are three geographically outlying coral reefs within the Exclusive Economic Zone, that do not have any land area:

Read more at Wikipedia.org