Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii

Lt. Governor of State of Hawaii
Incumbent Shan Tsutsui since December 27, 2012
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	James Kealoha
Formation	1959
Website	Office of the Lt. Governor

The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi, concurrently the Secretary of State of Hawaiʻi, is the assistant chief executive of that U.S. state and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaiʻi State Constitution Article V, Sections 2 though 6. The Lieutenant Governor is elected by popular suffrage of residents of the state on the same ticket as the Governor of Hawaiʻi. The Lieutenant Governor becomes acting Governor upon the absence of the Governor from the state, or if the Governor becomes disabled from duty. Historically, Lieutenant Governors were members of either the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party or Hawaiʻi Republican Party.

Three Lieutenant Governors have gone on to become Governor of Hawaii: George Ariyoshi, Ben Cayetano, and John D. Waihee III.

Qualifications

The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi 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. The Lieutenant Governor must be thirty years old and be a resident of Hawaiʻi for five consecutive years previous to election. Unlike other states, the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi is a full-time position and requires that the Lieutenant Governor be barred from other professions or paid positions during the term.

List of lieutenant governors

Parties

  Democratic   Republican

#	Image	Lt. Governor	Took Office	Left Office	Party		Governor(s) served under
1		James Kealoha	August 21, 1959	December 2, 1962	Republican		William F. Quinn
2		William S. Richardson	December 2, 1962	December 2, 1966	Democratic		John A. Burns
3		Thomas Gill	December 2, 1966	December 2, 1970	Democratic
4		George Ariyoshi	December 2, 1970	December 2, 1974	Democratic
5		Nelson Doi	December 2, 1974	December 2, 1978	Democratic		George Ariyoshi
6		Jean King	December 2, 1978	December 2, 1982	Democratic
7		John D. Waihee	December 2, 1982	December 2, 1986	Democratic
8		Ben Cayetano	December 2, 1986	December 2, 1994	Democratic		John D. Waihee
9		Mazie Hirono	December 2, 1994	December 2, 2002	Democratic		Ben Cayetano
10		Duke Aiona	December 4, 2002	December 6, 2010	Republican		Linda Lingle
11		Brian Schatz	December 6, 2010	December 26, 2012	Democratic		Neil Abercrombie
12		Shan Tsutsui	December 27, 2012	Incumbent	Democratic
							David Ige Neil Abercrombie

Living former U.S. Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii

As of January 2017, there are six former U.S. lieutenant governors of Hawaii who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. lieutenant governor of Hawaii being George Ariyoshi (served 1970–1974, born 1926). The most recent death of a former U.S. lieutenant governor of Hawaii was that of Nelson Doi (served 1974–1978, born 1922), who died on May 16, 2015. The most recently serving lieutenant governor to die was Jean King (1978-1982, born 1925) on November 24, 2013.

Lt. Governor	Lt. Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
George Ariyoshi	1970–1974	(1926-03-12) March 12, 1926
John D. Waihee III	1982–1986	(1946-05-19) May 19, 1946
Benjamin J. Cayetano	1986–1994	(1939-11-04) November 4, 1939
Mazie Hirono	1994–2002	(1947-11-03) November 3, 1947
Duke Aiona	2002–2010	(1955-06-08) June 8, 1955
Brian Schatz	2010–2012	(1972-10-20) October 20, 1972

Resources

• Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi
• Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi