The governor of the State of Hawaii is the head of government of Hawaii, and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Hawaii Legislature; the power to convene the legislature; and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.

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)	June 14, 1900 – November 23, 1903 (resigned)	William McKinley
2		George R. Carter (1866–1933)	November 23, 1903 – August 15, 1907 (resigned)	Theodore Roosevelt
3		Walter F. Frear (1863–1948)	August 15, 1907 – November 29, 1913 (successor appointed)	Theodore Roosevelt
4		Lucius E. Pinkham (1850–1922)	November 29, 1913 – June 22, 1918 (successor appointed)	Woodrow Wilson
5		Charles J. McCarthy (1861–1929)	June 22, 1918 – July 5, 1921 (successor appointed)	Woodrow Wilson
6		Wallace Rider Farrington (1871–1933)	July 5, 1921 – July 5, 1929 (successor appointed)	Warren G. Harding
				Calvin Coolidge
7		Lawrence M. Judd (1887–1968)	July 5, 1929 – March 1, 1934 (successor appointed)	Herbert Hoover
8		Joseph Poindexter (1869–1951)	March 1, 1934 – August 24, 1942 (successor appointed)	Franklin D. Roosevelt
9		Ingram Stainback (1883–1961)	August 24, 1942 – April 30, 1951 (resigned)	Franklin D. Roosevelt
				Harry S. Truman
10		Oren E. Long (1889–1965)	May 8, 1951 – February 28, 1953 (successor appointed)	Harry S. Truman
11		Samuel Wilder King (1886–1959)	February 28, 1953 – August 29, 1957 (resigned)	Dwight D. Eisenhower
12		William F. Quinn (1919–2006)	September 2, 1957 – 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. The 1978 constitutional convention established 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 fulfill duties, the lieutenant governor acts as governor during such absence or disability.

Governors of the State of Hawaii

No.	Governor			Term of office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1			William F. Quinn (1919–2006)	August 21, 1959 – December 3, 1962 (lost election)	Republican	1959		James Kealoha
2			John A. Burns (1909–1975)	December 3, 1962 – December 2, 1974 (did not run)	Democratic	1962		William S. Richardson (resigned April 13, 1966)
								Andrew T.F. Ing
						1966		Thomas Gill
						1970		George Ariyoshi
3			George Ariyoshi (b. 1926)	December 2, 1974 – December 1, 1986 (term-limited)	Democratic	1974		Nelson Doi
						1978		Jean King
						1982		John D. Waiheʻe III
4			John D. Waiheʻe III (b. 1946)	December 1, 1986 – December 5, 1994 (term-limited)	Democratic	1986		Ben Cayetano
						1990
5			Ben Cayetano (b. 1939)	December 5, 1994 – December 2, 2002 (term-limited)	Democratic	1994		Mazie Hirono
						1998
6			Linda Lingle (b. 1953)	December 2, 2002 – December 6, 2010 (term-limited)	Republican	2002		Duke Aiona
						2006
7			Neil Abercrombie (b. 1938)	December 6, 2010 – December 1, 2014 (lost nomination)	Democratic	2010		Brian Schatz (resigned December 26, 2012)
							Vacant
								Shan Tsutsui (took office December 27, 2012) (resigned January 31, 2018)
8			David Ige (b. 1957)	December 1, 2014 – December 5, 2022 (term-limited)	Democratic	2014
							Vacant
								Doug Chin (took office February 2, 2018)
						2018		Josh Green
9			Josh Green (b. 1970)	December 5, 2022 – Incumbent	Democratic	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