Cook Islands Party

The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the islands' politics since 1965. From 1999 until 2005 it sometimes participated in coalition governments. In the 2006 elections, it came runner-up and largest opposition party in the islands. The party won both the 2010 and 2014 elections and currently forms the government. As a result of the 2018 elections, it is the second largest party in the Cook Islands Parliament. The leader of the party is the Prime Minister Mark Brown. History The Cook Islands Party was established on 15 June 1964 by Albert Henry, a former leader of the Cook Islands Progressive Association, who had agitated for greater self-rule in the 1940s. The party was founded on a platform of economic development, maintaining ties with New Zealand, the protection of traditional Cook Islands culture and increased recognition of traditional titles. Within a month of foundation, the party had gained over 2,000 members on Rarotonga.