The Cabinet of New Zealand is the New Zealand Government's body of senior ministers, accountable to the New Zealand Parliament. Cabinet meetings, chaired by the prime minister, occur once a week; in them, vital issues are discussed and government policy is formulated. Cabinet is also composed of a number of committees focused on specific areas of governance and policy. Though not established by any statute, Cabinet wields significant power within the New Zealand political system, with nearly all government bills it introduces in Parliament being enacted.
Swearing-in of ministers by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, 26 October 2017. Cabinet members are first appointed as executive councillors before receiving warrants for their ministerial portfolios.
A meeting of Cabinet in 1972. At this time, Cabinet members were usually Pākehā and male; Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan (seated second-left from the centre) was the only female Cabinet minister.
Photograph taken before the first meeting of the Cabinet of the Sixth National Government of New Zealand, Beehive, 28 November 2023
Image: Winston Peters 2023 cropped headshot
The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the sex of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of approving orders, on the advice of the country's privy council or executive council.
The Council Chamber (Swedish: Konseljsalen) at Stockholm Palace in Sweden
Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, with her Cabinet, a subcommittee of the Queen's Privy Council, in Rideau Hall, 1 July 1967
Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, with her Cabinet, a subcommittee of the Executive Council, 1981
Governor-General Bill Hayden, representing Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, with his Cabinet, a subcommittee of the Federal Executive Council, outside Government House, 25 March 1994