World War II and After

New Zealand entered World War II at its start and provided forces for all theaters of war. Although the country had never taken action on the 1931 Statute of Westminster under which it could have autonomy, it acted as an independent nation during the war. (The statute was adopted by New Zealand in 1947.) Thousands of Americans came to know New Zealand during the war when it was the U.S. Navy's South Pacific headquarters.

In 1950 New Zealand joined the Colombo Plan. New Zealand military units fought in Korea (1950–53), and in 1951 a defense treaty known as ANZUS was signed with Australia and the United States. The country became a charter member of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in 1954. New Zealand troops helped British forces combat Communist guerrillas in Malaya, 1955–60.

The 1960's marked a change in New Zealand's relations with Great Britain. As the British reduced their role in the Far East, New Zealand put more emphasis on its economic and military alliances in the Pacific. It sent troops to Vietnam in 1964 in support of United States forces.

In 1984 the Labour party came to power. It declared the South Pacific a nuclear-free zone, causing diplomatic difficulties with France and the United States. France rejected the declaration and insisted on its right to test nuclear weapons in the South Pacific. In 1985, New Zealand refused berthing rights to U.S. Navy vessels that were either nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed. In 1993, voters approved a referendum establishing an expanded parliament elected under a system of mixed member proportional representation. The system was first used in the 1996 parliamentary elections, which brought to power a center-right coalition headed by the National party. In 1997, Jenny Shipley took over the leadership of the National party and became New Zealand's first female prime minister.

A coalition of Labour and Alliance parties won the most seats in the parliamentary elections held in 1999; New Zealand's first female prime minister to be elected to the post was the Labour party's leader, Helen Clark. In 2002, a majority of parliamentary seats were won by a coalition of Labour and Progressive Coalition parties. Clark remained in the position as New Zealand's prime minister. A parliamentary election in 2005 resulted in a win for the Labour party and in Clark's continuance in the role of prime minister.

Important dates in New Zealand (since 1951)
1975 Maori groups marched to Wellington, calling for investigations into abuses of the Treaty of Waitangi. The government established the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate reported government abuses of the treaty.
1981 The South African rugby team toured New Zealand, sparking protests against the South African apartheid (racial segregation) policies.
1984 New Zealand banned ships carrying nuclear weapons or powered by nuclear reactors from entering its ports.
1985 The government extended the Waitangi Tribunal's jurisdiction to hear historical claims dating back to 1840.
1986 The United States suspended its military duties to New Zealand under the mutual defense treaty ANZUS.
1993 New Zealand adopted a mixed member proportional election system.
1997 Jenny Shipley replaced Jim Bolger and became the first woman prime minister of New Zealand.
1998 Helen Clark became the first elected woman prime minister of New Zealand.