John David Waihee III (born May 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the fourth

governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii () is the head of government of the U.S. 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 bei ...

from 1986 to 1994. He was the first American of

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

descent to be elected to the office from any state of the United States. After his tenure in the governor's office, Waihee became a nationally prominent attorney and

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

Personal life and education

Waihee was born in Honokaa on the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

. Upon graduating from

Hawaiian Mission Academy The Hawaiian Mission Academy (HMA) is a private coeducational day and boarding school in Honolulu, Hawaii. HMA is the only Academy that provides international dormitory housing on the island. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education ...

, Waihee attended classes at

Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. There he obtained his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degrees in both

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. He moved to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

to attend the newly established

William S. Richardson School of Law The William S. Richardson School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the school is named after its patriarch, former Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice Will ...

at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1976. Waihee is an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

and recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

. He married Lynne Kobashigawa and one of his sons, John Waiheʻe IV, is a statewide elected official on the

Office of Hawaiian Affairs The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a self-governing corporate body of the State of Hawaii created by the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention. It is often described as the fourth branch of government in Hawaiʻi. OHA's mandate is ...

Board of Trustees (first elected in 2000).

Politics

Waihee started his political career as a delegate to the

1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention The 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention is considered the watershed political event in the modern State of Hawaii. It was convened on July 5, 1978. The convention established term limits for state office holders, provided a requirement ...

where he was instrumental in the creation of the

and the adoption of the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

as an official

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

of the state. He later served one term as a Democratic member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives from 1981 to 1983. Waihee was elected

lieutenant governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii () is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of Hawaii. Elected by popular suff ...

under Governor

George Ariyoshi George Ryoichi Ariyoshi (, born March 12, 1926) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the third governor of Hawaii from 1974 to 1986. A Democrat, he is Hawaii's longest-serving governor and the first American of Asian descent to ...

, serving in that capacity until 1986. In 2008 Waihee served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. In 2011, Waihee was appointed by Governor

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a ...

to the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, established by Act 195. Waihee sits as the only Commissioner At-Large. In the following year, the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission actively began working on fulfilling its mandate to bring the Native Hawaiian people together by enrolling with the Commission. This effort is now referred to as Kanaʻiolowalu. Commissioner Waihee is featured in an 11-part series of Frequently Asked Questions videos about Kanaʻiolowalu. The video footage was recorded on the campus of the

in the presence of a live audience composed primarily of law school students and faculty. He pushed the state of Hawaii to adopt Hawaiian as an official language. He's proud of helping build

Kapolei Kapolei () is a planned community in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, United States, on the island of Oʻahu. In 1977, the government designated it as the "second city" of Oʻahu, in relation to Honolulu. For statistical purposes, ...

as Oahu's second city.

Governorship

Waihee successfully ran for the governor's office sharing a ticket with state senator

Ben Cayetano Benjamin Jerome Cayetano (born November 14, 1939) is an American politician and author who served as the fifth governor of the State of Hawaii from 1994 to 2002. He is the first Filipino American to serve as a state governor in the United Stat ...

. Cayetano became Waihee's lieutenant governor for two terms; both were re-elected in 1990. During much of his term, Hawaii experienced a boom in the

tourism industry Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and increased foreign investment, especially from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The issue of Hawaiian sovereignty also took on increased importance as the centennial anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (when

Queen Liliuokalani Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

was deposed) occurred. Waihee left office in 1994, having served the maximum two terms in office as permitted by the

Constitution of Hawaii The Constitution of the State of Hawaii (), also known as the Hawaii State Constitution, is the fundamental governing document of the U.S. state of Hawaii. As an organic text, it establishes the principles and framework of government, enumerate ...

that he had helped to author. His lieutenant governor won the election to succeed Waihee.

Retirement

John Waihee at the King Kamehameha Parade 2016

After leaving the governor's office, Waihee worked for various national-scope law firms based in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He also opened a private law practice and lobbying firm. In two special elections held in November 2002 and January 2003, Waihee considered running for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

seat left open by the death of

Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink ( Takemoto; , December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii who served in the United States House of Representatives for 24 years as a member of the Democratic ...

on September 28, 2002. Under Hawaiian election law, it was too late to remove the name of Patsy Mink from the November 2002 General Election ballot, and consequently Mink was posthumously re-elected. Waihee dropped out of both special election contests and endorsed the candidacy of Mink's widower.

References

External links