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General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 20 April 1965 to elect 22 MPs to the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party and saw Albert Henry become the Cook Islands' first Prime Minister.
Because the election had the potential to result in removing the Cook Islands from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, the election was observed by representatives of the UN. The holding of an election was necessary prior to the Constitution of the Cook Islands coming into force and the constitution, if approved by the elected Legislature, would institute self-government for the Cook Islands. After the election, the Legislative Assembly approved the constitution and the Cook Islands became self-governing on 4 August 1965. As a result, the UN removed the Cook Islands from its list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.