The administrator acts as a representative, not of the monarch personally, but of the New Zealand Government.

[3][4] The region of the Pacific Ocean in which Tokelau lies was declared a British protectorate in 1877, and the islands themselves came under British protection in 1889, being incorporated into the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

The Governor-General at the time, Sir Charles Fergusson, the next year appointed the High Commissioner of Western Samoa, Maj Gen Sir George Spafford Richardson, as administrator, with a delegation of the Vice-Regal powers.

This situation continued up until 1948, when sovereignty over Tokelau was transferred from the United Kingdom to New Zealand.

In recent years, administrators have tended to be senior civil servants, politicians, or career diplomats.