Governor of Hawaii
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Governors of Hawaii have been administering their duties from the Hawaii State Capitol since 1969. Previous to that, they governed from the adjacent Iolani Palace. |
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Flag of the governor of Hawaii |
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Linda Lingle takes the oath of office upon a Torah on December 2, 2002, at the Hawaii State Capitol rotunda by Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald Moon. |
The
Governor of Hawaii, also called
Ke Kiaaina o 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 disability from discharging duties. Historically, the Governor of Hawaii has been from either the
Democratic Party of Hawaii or
Hawaii Republican Party.
The current Governor of Hawaii is
Linda Lingle.
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. A Governor is:
* required to be at least thirty 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.
Unlike all but two other states in the Union (
Tennessee and
New Jersey), Hawaii has only one elected statewide officer in the Governor of Hawaii. Also, the Governor of Hawaii has wide-reaching authority comparably stronger than the other governors in the Union; 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. It is because of this central authority that the Governor of Hawaii is locally considered one of the most powerful governors in the
United States. The governorship of Hawaii has often been characterized by the
Honolulu Advertiser,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin and various other local media as an "elected monarchy" referring to the most current governors as "King Ben" and "Queen Linda" in headlines during their tenures. Included within the governor's sphere of jurisdiction is the power to appoint all
judges of the various courts within the Hawaii judicial system. Hawaii is the only state that has no direct voter involvement in either the selection or retention of judges.
The State of Hawaii does not have fixed cabinet positions and departments. By law, the Governor of Hawaii has the power to create his or her 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.
The Governor of Hawaii's official residence is
Washington Place, a mansion that was once a minor royal palace of
Queen Lili'uokalani 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 minor royal palace, the Governors of Hawaii have entertained royal families from around the world at Washington Place including the
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.
Hawaii was the first state to have an
Asian American Governor
George R. Ariyoshi. In all, the state has had three Asian American governors and three white governors.
*
List of Governors of Hawaii*
Constitution of the State of Hawaii*
Office of the Governor of Hawaii
