New Zealand glass ceiling shattered

Dame Silvia Cartwright: The Queen's new representative

A woman high court judge has been chosen as New Zealand's next governor general, meaning women will now occupy all the country's top constitutional posts.

Dame Silvia Cartwright will take on her new role as Queen Elizabeth II's official representative next April.

Women at the top

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Opposition leader Jenny Shipley

Attorney General Margaret Wilson

Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias

The prime minister, opposition leader, attorney general and chief justice are all female.

The chief executive of the nation's largest company, Telecom New Zealand, is also a woman.

New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote in 1893 and has long claimed to be at the forefront of the campaign to increase women's rights.

Dame Silvia, 56, who replaces Sir Michael Hardie Boys, was the first woman chief judge of New Zealand's District Courts and in 1993 became the country's first woman High Court judge.

She is also a member of the United Nations committee monitoring women's rights.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy which retains the British queen as head of state.

The governor general is her representative in the country - although it is essentially a figurehead role.