| English: The Lord in Heaven | |
|---|---|
 Theseal of Niue | |
National anthem ofNiue | |
| Lyrics | Unknown |
| Music | Unknown; prepared by Sioeli Fusikata |
| Adopted | 1974; 51 years ago (1974) |
| Audio sample | |
Instrumental version, 2023 | |
"Ko e Iki he Lagi" (English:"The Lord in Heaven"), also titled in English as "Lord in heaven, Thou art merciful",[1] is thenational anthem ofNiue. It was adopted in 1974, when Niue became a self-governing state within therealm of New Zealand.
During Niue's history as aterritory of New Zealand, the national anthem of Niue was New Zealand's "God Defend New Zealand". "God Save the King" was (and still is) the royal anthem of themonarchy of New Zealand. "Ko e Iki he Lagi" was created before the 1970s. It is not known who composed the words or the music, but it is known that it was prepared (i.e. set down on paper) by Sioeli Fusikata.[2][3] It had already become a popular song on Niue, but the opportunity had rarely arisen for people to sing it at public events. In the 1963South Pacific Games, Niue used theFlag of New Zealand, in keeping with the rest of the colonies of theBritish Empire not using theUnion Jack at the games. Niue also used "Ko e Iki he Lagi" as their anthem rather than "God Defend New Zealand", because the organisers had requested that "identifying tunes" be used to represent nations at the games instead of recognised national anthems.[4] However, Niue did not win any of the events, so "Ko e Iki he Lagi" was not heard publicly at the games.[5]
In 1974, the same year that Niue's new constitution granted Niue the status offree association with New Zealand upon the passage of theNiue Constitution Act 1974 in theParliament of New Zealand, Niue adopted "Ko e Iki he Lagi" as their national anthem, superseding "God Defend New Zealand".[3] "God Save the King" was retained as the royal anthem to be used when the monarch is present in Niue.[6]
| Niuean original[6] | IPA transcription[a] | English translation[6] |
|---|---|---|
[ko e i.ki he la.ŋi] | The Lord in Heaven |
