List of governors of Hawaii

"Governors of Hawaii" redirects here. For a list of governors of the Hawaiian Kingdom, see Governors of Hawaii (island).

The governor of the State of Hawaii is the head of government of Hawaii,^[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 Josh Green since December 5, 2022
Residence	Washington Place
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Precursor	Governor of Hawaii Territory
Inaugural holder	William F. Quinn
Formation	August 21, 1959 (65 years ago) (1959-08-21)
Succession	Line of succession
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Website	governor.hawaii.gov

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 Josh Green, who took office on December 5, 2022.

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

List of 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.

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
1		Sanford B. Dole (1844–1926) [5]	June 14, 1900[a] – November 23, 1903 (resigned)[b]	William McKinley
2		George R. Carter (1866–1933) [9]	November 23, 1903[c] – August 15, 1907 (resigned)[d]	Theodore Roosevelt
3		Walter F. Frear (1863–1948) [13]	August 15, 1907[e] – November 29, 1913 (successor appointed)	Theodore Roosevelt
4		Lucius E. Pinkham (1850–1922) [16]	November 29, 1913[f] – June 22, 1918 (successor appointed)	Woodrow Wilson
5		Charles J. McCarthy (1861–1929) [19]	June 22, 1918[g] – July 5, 1921 (successor appointed)	Woodrow Wilson
6		Wallace Rider Farrington (1871–1933) [22]	July 5, 1921[h] – July 5, 1929 (successor appointed)	Warren G. Harding
				Calvin Coolidge
7		Lawrence M. Judd (1887–1968) [26]	July 5, 1929[i] – March 1, 1934 (successor appointed)	Herbert Hoover
8		Joseph Poindexter (1869–1951) [29]	March 1, 1934[j] – August 24, 1942 (successor appointed)	Franklin D. Roosevelt
9		Ingram Stainback[k] (1883–1961) [34]	August 24, 1942[l] – April 30, 1951 (resigned)[m]	Franklin D. Roosevelt
				Harry S. Truman
10		Oren E. Long (1889–1965) [38]	May 8, 1951[n] – February 28, 1953 (successor appointed)	Harry S. Truman
11		Samuel Wilder King (1886–1959) [41]	February 28, 1953[o] – August 29, 1957 (resigned)[p]	Dwight D. Eisenhower
12		William F. Quinn (1919–2006) [45][46][47]	September 2, 1957[q] – August 21, 1959 (elected state governor)	Dwight D. Eisenhower

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 nine 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][50] 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.^[51]

Governors of the State of Hawaii

No.	Governor			Term of office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[r]
1			William F. Quinn (1919–2006) [45][46][47]	August 21, 1959[52] – December 3, 1962 (lost election)	Republican[53]	1959		James Kealoha
2			John A. Burns (1909–1975) [54][55]	December 3, 1962[56] – December 2, 1974 (did not run)[54]	Democratic[53]	1962		William S. Richardson (resigned April 13, 1966)
								Andrew T.F. Ing
						1966		Thomas Gill
						1970		George Ariyoshi
3			George Ariyoshi (b. 1926) [57][58]	December 2, 1974[59] – December 1, 1986 (term-limited)[s]	Democratic[53]	1974		Nelson Doi
						1978		Jean King
						1982		John D. Waiheʻe III
4			John D. Waiheʻe III (b. 1946) [61]	December 1, 1986[62] – December 5, 1994 (term-limited)[s]	Democratic[61]	1986		Ben Cayetano
						1990
5			Ben Cayetano (b. 1939) [63]	December 5, 1994[64] – December 2, 2002 (term-limited)[s]	Democratic[63]	1994		Mazie Hirono
						1998
6			Linda Lingle (b. 1953) [65]	December 2, 2002[66] – December 6, 2010 (term-limited)[s]	Republican[65]	2002		Duke Aiona
						2006
7			Neil Abercrombie (b. 1938) [67]	December 6, 2010[68] – December 1, 2014 (lost nomination)[69]	Democratic[67]	2010		Brian Schatz (resigned December 26, 2012)
							Vacant
								Shan Tsutsui (took office December 27, 2012) (resigned January 31, 2018)
8			David Ige (b. 1957) [70]	December 1, 2014[71] – December 5, 2022 (term-limited)[s]	Democratic[70]	2014
							Vacant
								Doug Chin (took office February 2, 2018)
						2018		Josh Green
9			Josh Green (b. 1970) [72]	December 5, 2022[73] – Incumbent[t]	Democratic[72]	2022		Sylvia Luke

See also

• List of governors of Hawaii (island)
• List of governors of Maui
• List of governors of Oahu
• List of governors of Kauai
• List of Hawaii state legislatures

Notes

1. Dole was nominated on May 4, 1900,^[6] confirmed by the Senate on May 9,^[7] and took office on June 14.^[5]
2. Dole resigned, having been confirmed to the United States District Court for Hawaii Territory.^[5][8]
3. Carter was appointed on October 31, 1903,^[10] during a Senate recess; nominated on November 11;^[10] and confirmed by the Senate on November 23.^[11]
4. Carter's term was to have ended November 23, 1907, but he had stated he did not wish to serve again, so his successor was appointed early.^[12]
5. Frear was appointed on June 28, 1907,^[14] during a Senate recess; nominated on December 3;^[14] and was confirmed by the Senate on December 18;^[15] He took office on August 15.^[13]
6. Pinkham was nominated on July 24, 1913,^[17] and confirmed by the Senate on November 29.^[18]
7. McCarthy was nominated on April 18, 1918,^[20] confirmed by the Senate on May 4,^[21] and took office on June 22.^[19]
8. Farrington was nominated on June 2, 1921,^[23] confirmed by the Senate on June 17,^[24] and took office on July 5.^[22] He was reconfirmed by the Senate on February 2, 1925.^[25]
9. Judd was nominated on April 24, 1929,^[27] confirmed by the Senate on April 29,^[28] and took office on July 5.^[26]
10. Poindexter was nominated on January 30, 1934,^[30] confirmed by the Senate on February 5,^[31] and took office on March 2.^[29]
11. 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.^[32] During the military rule, the territory was governed by Lieutenant Generals Walter Short, Delos Emmons, and Robert C. Richardson, Jr.^[33]
12. Stainback was nominated on July 23, 1942,^[35] confirmed by the Senate on July 27,^[36] and took office on August 24.^[34] He was reconfirmed on July 13, 1946.^[37]
13. Stainback resigned due to poor health.^[34]
14. Long was nominated on April 23, 1951,^[39] confirmed by the Senate on May 4,^[40] and took office on May 8.^[38]
15. King was nominated on February 18, 1953,^[42] confirmed by the Senate on February 23,^[43] and took office on February 28.^[41]
16. King resigned when denied a second term by President Eisenhower, to take effect when his successor took office.^[44]
17. Quinn was nominated on August 9, 1957,^[48] confirmed by the Senate on August 28,^[49] and took office on September 2.^[45]
18. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
19. Under the constitution as amended in 1978, governors cannot be elected to more than two consecutive terms.^[60]
20. Green's term will expire on December 7, 2026.