List of governors of Hawaii

The governor of the State of Hawaii is the head of the executive branch of Hawaii's state government,[1] and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws;[2] the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Hawaii Legislature;[3] the power to convene the legislature;[4] and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.[2]

Governor of Hawaii Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi
Gubernatorial Standard
Incumbent David Ige since December 1, 2014
Residence	Washington Place
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Precursor	Governor of Hawaii Territory
Inaugural holder	William F. Quinn
Formation	August 21, 1959
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Website	Office of the Governor

Flag of the Governor

Flag of the Governor before Statehood in 1959

Of the eight governors of the state, two have been elected to three terms, four have been elected to two terms, and one has been elected to one term. No state governor has yet resigned or died in office, nor did any territorial governor die in office. George Ariyoshi was the first Asian American to be governor of any U.S. state. The current governor is Democrat David Ige, who took office on December 1, 2014.

The longest-serving governors are John A. Burns (1962–1974) and George Ariyoshi (1974 to 1986), both of whom served 12 years each.

Governors

The Republic of Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. It was organized into Hawaii Territory in 1900, and admitted as a state in 1959. The Republic had only one president, Sanford B. Dole, who later was the first territorial governor.

Governors of Hawaii Territory

Hawaii Territory was organized on June 14, 1900, remaining a territory for 59 years. Twelve people served as territorial governor, appointed by the president of the United States.

Governors of the Territory of Hawaii

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointed by	Notes
1		Sanford B. Dole	June 14, 1900 – November 23, 1903	William McKinley	[lower-alpha 1]
2		George R. Carter	November 23, 1903[6] – August 15, 1907	Theodore Roosevelt	[lower-alpha 2]
3		Walter F. Frear	August 15, 1907[8] – November 30, 1913
4		Lucius E. Pinkham	November 30, 1913[9] – June 22, 1918	Woodrow Wilson
5		Charles J. McCarthy	June 22, 1918[10] – July 5, 1921
6		Wallace Rider Farrington	July 5, 1921[11] – July 6, 1929	Warren G. Harding
7		Lawrence M. Judd	July 6, 1929[12] – March 2, 1934	Herbert Hoover
8		Joseph Poindexter	March 2, 1934[13] – August 24, 1942	Franklin D. Roosevelt	[lower-alpha 3]
9		Ingram Stainback	August 24, 1942[15] – May 8, 1951		[lower-alpha 4]
10		Oren E. Long	May 8, 1951[18] – February 28, 1953	Harry S. Truman
11		Samuel Wilder King	February 28, 1953[19] – July 26, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower	[lower-alpha 5]
12		William F. Quinn	August 29, 1957[21] – August 21, 1959

Governors of the State of Hawaii

Hawaii was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, consisting of Hawaii Territory minus Palmyra Atoll. Since then, there have been eight governors.

The governor is elected to a four-year term commencing on the first Monday in the December following the election. The lieutenant governor is elected for the same term and, since 1964, on the same ticket as the governor.[1][22] The 1978 constitutional convention established a term limit of two consecutive terms for both offices.[1] If the office of governor is vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor; if the governor is out of the state or unable to fulfill duties, the lieutenant governor acts as governor during such absence or disability.[23]

Governors of the State of Hawaii[lower-alpha 6]

No.	Governor			Term of office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[lower-alpha 7]
1			William F. Quinn	August 21, 1959 – December 3, 1962 (lost election)	Republican	1959		James Kealoha
2			John A. Burns	December 3, 1962 – December 2, 1974 (not candidate for election)	Democratic	1962		William S. Richardson
						1966		Thomas Gill
						1970		George Ariyoshi
3			George Ariyoshi	December 2, 1974 – December 1, 1986 (term limited)	Democratic	1974		Nelson Doi
						1978		Jean King
						1982		John D. Waiheʻe III
4			John D. Waiheʻe III	December 1, 1986 – December 5, 1994 (term limited)	Democratic	1986		Ben Cayetano
						1990
5			Ben Cayetano	December 5, 1994 – December 2, 2002 (term limited)	Democratic	1994		Mazie Hirono
						1998
6			Linda Lingle	December 2, 2002 – December 6, 2010 (term limited)	Republican	2002		Duke Aiona
						2006
7			Neil Abercrombie	December 6, 2010 – December 1, 2014 (not candidate for election)[lower-alpha 8]	Democratic	2010		Brian Schatz (resigned December 26, 2012)
							Vacant
								Shan Tsutsui (took office December 27, 2012) (resigned January 31, 2018)
8			David Ige	December 1, 2014 – present[lower-alpha 9]	Democratic	2014
							Vacant
								Doug Chin (took office February 2, 2018)
						2018		Josh Green

See also

• List of Governors of Hawaii (island)
• List of Governors of Maui
• List of Governors of Oahu
• List of Governors of Kauai

Notes

1. Dole resigned to take a seat on the United States District Court for Hawaii Territory.[5]
2. Carter's term was to have ended November 23, 1907, but he had stated he did not wish to serve again, so his replacement was appointed early.[7]
3. Poindexter remained in office for several months after his term expired until his successor was confirmed.[14]
4. Stainback had little power until October 24, 1944, as his predecessor had declared martial law on December 7, 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, delegating executive authority to the military.[16] During the military rule, the territory was governed by Lieutenant Generals Walter Short, Delos Emmons, and Robert C. Richardson, Jr..[17]
5. King resigned immediately when denied a second term by President Eisenhower.[20]
6. Data is sourced from the National Governors Association, unless supplemental references are required.
7. All lieutenant governors have represented the same party as their governor.
8. Abercrombie lost the Democratic nomination to David Ige.[24]
9. Ige's second term began December 3, 2018, and will expire December 5, 2022; he will be term limited.

References

General

• "Office of the Governor". Retrieved February 22, 2008.
• "Previous Governors of Hawaiʻi". Office of the Governor. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
• "Hawaii: Past Governors Bios". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 24, 2018.

Constitution

• "Constitution of the State of Hawaii". State of Hawaii. 1959. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.

Specific

1. HI Const. art. V, § 1
2. HI Const. art. V, § 5
3. HI Const. art. IV, § 16
4. HI Const. art. IV, § 10
5. "Confirmed by the Senate". The New York Times. November 24, 1903. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
6. "Carter Takes the Oath". The Washington Post. November 24, 1903. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
7. "Gov. Carter will Quit". The New York Times. June 9, 1907. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
8. "New Governor of Hawaii". The Washington Post. August 16, 1907. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
9. "Approved as Hawaii Governor". The New York Times. November 30, 1913. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
10. All about Hawaii. Star-Bulletin Printing Co. 1960. p. 148. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
11. All about Hawaii. Star-Bulletin Printing Co. 1960. p. 157. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
12. "Judd is Inaugurated". The New York Times. July 6, 1929. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
13. "Poindexter Takes Office As Governor of Hawaii". The Christian Science Monitor. March 2, 1934. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
14. Dyke, C.Y. (1960). Biographical Sketches of Hawaii's Rulers. First National Bank of Hawaii. p. 35. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
15. Court Of Claims, United States; Company, West Publishing (1988). "Federal Supplement". 66. West Pub. Co.: 985. Retrieved February 22, 2008. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. Israel, Fred L. (August 1967). "Military Justice in Hawaii 1941–1944". Pacific Historical Review. 36 (3): 243. JSTOR 3637150.
17. Rankin, Robert S. (May 1944). "Martial Law and the Writ of Habeas Corpus in Hawaii". The Journal of Politics. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 6, No. 2. 6 (2): 213. doi:10.2307/2125272. JSTOR 2125272.
18. "Hawaii Swears in Long as Governor". The New York Times. May 9, 1951. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
19. "Hawaii Inaugurates King As Its Eleventh Governor". The New York Times. March 1, 1953. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
20. "Hawaii Governor, Denied 2nd Term, Resigns Suddenly". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1957. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
21. "Gov. Quinn Takes Office in Hawaii". The New York Times. August 30, 1957. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
22. Tuttle, Jr., Daniel W. (June 1967). "The 1966 Election in Hawaii". The Western Political Quarterly. The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 2. 20 (2, part 2): 563. doi:10.2307/446083. JSTOR 446083.
23. HI Const. art. V, § 4
24. "Hawaiian Governor Loses Primary by Wide Margin; Senate Race Is Undecided". The New York Times. August 11, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2019.

External links

• Office of the Governor of Hawaii