Mabel Howard, an MP in the NZ Labour Party.

Prime minister, cabinet ministers, head of state and governor general

• New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
• The majority of New Zealand's population are European generations.
• Nationally, New Zealand has a Parliament as a legislative authority
• Executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister.
• Queen Elizabeth II is the country's head of state and is represented by a Governor-General.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of England as its head of state. In practice, the role of the Queen (or rather, of her representative, the Governor) is very limited and mostly ceremonial. The prime minister, his Cabinet and the New Zealand parliament run the country.

New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy as head of state. This means that the most powerful institution is our democratically elected parliament, which chooses the executive (the Prime Minister and cabinet), while a ceremonial head of state with limited powers "reigns".