List of governors of Hawaii

This is a list of people who were the Governor of Hawaii.

Governors
The Republic of Hawaii was annexed by the United States in 1898. It became the Hawaii Territory in 1900. Hawaii became a state in 1959. The Republic had only one president, Sanford B. Dole. He was also the first territorial governor. Between 1893 and 1894, Hawaii was under the Provisional Government of Hawaii. It had no formal leader. Before 1893, Hawaii was a monarchy. Queen Lili'uokalani was the last Queen of Hawaii.

Governors of Hawaii Territory
Hawaii Territory was organized on June 14, 1900. It was a territory for 59 years. Twelve people served as territorial governor. They were chosen by the President of the United States.

#GovernorTook officeLeft officeAppointed byNotes1Sanford B. DoleJune 14, 1900November 23, 1903William McKinley2George R. CarterNovember 23, 1903August 15, 1907Theodore Roosevelt3Walter F. FrearAugust 15, 1907November 30, 1913Theodore Roosevelt4Lucius E. PinkhamNovember 30, 1913June 22, 1918Woodrow Wilson5Charles J. McCarthyJune 22, 1918July 5, 1921Woodrow Wilson6Wallace R. FarringtonJuly 5, 1921July 6, 1929Warren G. Harding7Lawrence M. JuddJuly 6, 1929March 2, 1934Herbert Hoover8Joseph PoindexterMarch 2, 1934August 24, 1942Franklin D. Roosevelt9Ingram StainbackAugust 24, 1942May 8, 1951Franklin D. Roosevelt10Oren E. LongMay 8, 1951February 28, 1953Harry S. Truman11Samuel Wilder KingFebruary 28, 1953July 26, 1957Dwight D. Eisenhower12William F. QuinnAugust 29, 1957August 21, 1959Dwight D. Eisenhower

Governors of the State of Hawaii
Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959. The state was made up of Hawaii Territory without Palmyra Atoll. Since then, there have been seven governors.

The governor is elected to a four-year term. It begins on the first Monday in the December after the election. The lieutenant governor is elected for the same term. Since 1964, they have been elected on the same ticket.HI Const. art. V, § 1  The 1978 constitutional convention set a term limit of two consecutive terms for both offices. If the office of governor is vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. If the governor is out of the state or unable to do their duties, the lieutenant governor acts as governor.HI Const. art. V, § 4

+ Governors of the State of HawaiiGovernorTerm of officePartyElectionLt. Governor175px William F. Quinn    July 13, 1919 – August 28, 2006    (aged 87)–December 3, 1962(lost election)Republican1959 James Kealoha275pxJohn A. Burns    March 30, 1909 – April 5, 1975    (aged 66)–December 2, 1974(not candidate for election)Democratic1962William S. Richardson1966Thomas Gill1970George Ariyoshi3 George Ariyoshi    –December 1, 1986(term limited)Democratic1974Nelson Doi1978Jean King1982John D. Waiheʻe III475pxJohn D. Waiheʻe III    –December 5, 1994(term limited)Democratic1986Ben Cayetano1990575pxBen Cayetano    –December 2, 2002(term limited)Democratic1994Mazie Hirono1998675pxLinda Lingle    –December 6, 2010(term limited)Republican2002Duke Aiona2006775pxNeil Abercrombie    –December 1, 2014(lost renomination)Democratic2010Brian Schatz(resigned December 26, 2012)VacantShan Tsutsui(took office December 27, 2012)(resigned January 31, 2018)875pxDavid Ige    –December 5, 2022Democratic2014VacantDoug Chin(took office February 2, 2018)2018Josh Green975pxJosh Green    December 5, 2022''Democratic2022Sylvia Luke 

 Living former Governors of Hawaii 
As of March 2026, there are six living former Governors of Hawaii, the oldest being Fob James, who served as the 3rd Governor of Hawaii (served 1974-1986), at 99. The most recent death of a formergovernor was that of William F. Quinn, who served as the 1st Governor of Hawaii (served 1959-1962) on August 28, 2006.

Notes

References