Governor of Hawaii

Governor of the State of Hawaii Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi
Flag of the Governor of Hawaii

Incumbent David Ige since December 1, 2014
Residence	Washington Place
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	William F. Quinn
Formation	1959
Website	Office of the Governor

Hawaii

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Hawaii
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The Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enforcing laws passed by the Hawaii State Legislature and upholding rulings of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The role includes being commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Hawaii and having the power to use those forces to execute laws, suppress insurrection and violence and repel invasion. The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii becomes acting governor upon the governor's absence from the state or if the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office. Historically, the Governor of Hawaii has been from either the Democratic Party of Hawaii or Hawaii Republican Party.

The current Governor of Hawaii is Democrat David Ige, who assumed the position on December 1, 2014. Hawaii was the first state to have an Asian American governor; George R. Ariyoshi served three terms between 1974–1986. Currently the state has had three Asian American governors, one Native Hawaiian governor, and four white governors.

Qualifications

The Governor of Hawaii is limited to two four-year terms. Inauguration takes place on the first Monday in December following a gubernatorial election. A single term ends at noon four years later. There is no lifetime limit on the number of times a governor may be elected, but a governor who has been elected to two consecutive terms must be out of office for at least one election cycle before being eligible once again for re-election. A Governor is:

required to be at least 30 years old,
required to have been a resident of Hawaii for five consecutive years previous to election,
barred from other professions or paid positions during the term.

Authority

Flag of the Governor

Flag of the Governor before Statehood in 1959

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor (running together on the same ticket) are the only two elected statewide executive officers in Hawaii. All other statewide executives (attorney general, auditor, etc.) are appointed by either the governor or the state legislature.

Also, the Governor of Hawaii has wide-reaching authority comparably stronger than the other governors in the Union;^[1] administrative powers are more centralized than that of most other states with little authority devolved to the counties, and unlike other states there are no local school districts. Included within the governor's sphere of jurisdiction is the power to appoint all judges of the various courts within the Hawaiian judicial system, subject to Senatorial approval.

The state of Hawaii does not have fixed cabinet positions and departments. By law, the Governor of Hawaii has the power to create their cabinet and departments as needed as long as the executive department is composed of no more than twenty bodies and cabinet members. The Governor of Hawaii is also empowered to remove cabinet officers at will, with the exception of the Attorney General of Hawaii, who must be removed by an act of the Hawaii State Senate.

Residence

The Governor of Hawaii's official residence is Washington Place, a mansion that was once a minor royal palace of Queen Liliʻuokalani and her husband, Prince Consort John Owen Dominis. The mansion is located across the street from the Hawaii State Capitol, where the Office of the Governor is located, and is accessed from the Capitol through underground passages beneath Beretania Street in downtown Honolulu. Befitting of its history as a former royal palace, the Governors of Hawaii have entertained royal families from around the world at Washington Place including Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Emperors Hirohito and Akihito of Japan.

In 2001, a new mansion for the governor was built on the grounds of Washington Place, after the state decided to turn Washington Place into a museum, an idea supported by then-Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano and family. This new mansion was completed in 2002 and Cayetano became the first governor to live in it for a few days before leaving office. His successor, Governor Linda Lingle, became the first governor to begin a term in the new mansion. Despite the building of this new mansion, Washington Place remains the official residence of the governor and is still used for state dinners and other official functions.

References

↑ Civil Beat article about the Hawaii governor's authorities

External links

Chief executives of the United States

Federal	President of the United States

State governors (current list)	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Territorial (current list)	American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands

Defunct	Pre-state territories Panama Canal Zone Philippine Islands (until 1935) Philippine Commonwealth (until 1946) Cuba Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

Governors of Hawaii

Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi (1898–1941)	Dole Carter Frear Pinkham McCarthy Farrington Judd Poindexter

Military Governor of Hawaii (1941–44)	Short Emmons Richardson

Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi (1944–59)	Stainback Long King Quinn

Governor of Hawaiʻi (1959–present)	Quinn Burns Ariyoshi Waihee Cayetano Lingle Abercrombie Ige

Current statewide political officials of Hawaii

U.S. Senators	Brian Schatz Mazie Hirono

State government	David Ige, Governor Shan Tsutsui, Lieutenant Governor & Sec. of State Doug Chin, Attorney General Douglas G. Murdock, State Treasurer (called Comptroller), appointed by the Gov.

Senate	Ron Kouchi, President Will Espero, Vice President J. Kalani English, Majority Leader Sam Slom, Minority Leader

House	Joseph M. Souki, Speaker John Mizuno, Vice Speaker Scott Saiki, Majority Leader Beth Fukumoto, Minority Leader

Supreme Court	Mark E. Recktenwald, Chief Justice Paula A. Nakayama, Sabrina McKenna Richard W. Pollack Michael D. Wilson

State of Hawaiʻi

Honolulu (capital)

Topics	Constitution Delegations Geography Government History Islands Language Music People Tourism Transportation	Seal of Hawaii

Society	Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Politics Sports

Main Islands	Hawaiʻi Kahoʻolawe Kauaʻi Lānaʻi Maui Molokaʻi Niʻihau Oʻahu

Northwestern Islands	French Frigate Shoals Gardner Kure Laysan Lisianski Maro Reef Necker Nihoa Pearl and Hermes

Communities	Hilo Honolulu Kahului Kāneʻohe Līhuʻe Pearl City Waipahu

Counties	Hawaiʻi Honolulu Kalawao Kauaʻi Maui

Sovereignty Movement	Hawaiian Renaissance 2008 occupation of Iolani Palace

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