in 1893 new zealand became the first country in the world to grant voting rights to
Women's suffrage in New Zealand The Electoral Bill granting women the franchise was given Royal Assent by Governor Lord Glasgow on 19 September 1893.[2] Women voted for the first time in the election held on 28 November 1893 (elections for the Māori electorates were held on 20 December). In 1893, Elizabeth Yates also became Mayor of Onehunga, the first time such a post had been held by a woman anywhere in the British Empire.[3]
Monarchy of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand[n 1] is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand.[3] The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952.