A TIMELINE OF COOK ISLANDS' CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY
1888: UK declares the islands a British colony
1901: Islands annexed by New Zealand
1947: Legislative Council established
1958: First elections under universal suffrage
1959: Legislative Council expanded to include representatives from Islands' Councils
14 December, 1960: UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for all colonial peoples to be granted full independence
12 July, 1962: Options for the political future of the Islands laid out by New Zealand's Minister of Island Territories
20 April, 1965: Cook Islands first general election under self-government, to choose members of the Legislative Assembly (subsequently Parliament)
4 August, 1965: Cook Islands declared a self-governing nation "in free association with New Zealand"
16 December, 1965: UN General Assembly endorses self government