The Privy Council of the Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the King's Privy Council of State or Queen's Privy Council of State ( haw, Ka Mōʻī ʻAha Kūkākūkā Malu o ke Aupuni), was a constitutionally-created body of advisers to the sovereign of the

Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the ...

from 1845 to 1893. Its members were known as privy councillors and often involved in the other branches of the government.

Overview

The idea of a body of advisors had its origin in the Council of Chiefs (ʻAha

Aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...

) during the early reign of

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

and his predecessors. The ʻAha Aliʻi was also the precedent of the House of Nobles in the

Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the bicameral (later unicameral) legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term Legislat ...

. The first documented meeting on the records of the Privy Council was July 29, 1845, although it may been formed earlier. The Privy Council was officially constituted after the passing of "An Act to Organize the Executive Ministry of the Hawaiian Islands" on October 29, 1845, in the Legislature, which formally outlined the appointment of cabinet ministers for the executive branch and the role of a privy council. The body was headed by the monarch or in his absence the

Kuhina Nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offic ...

(premier or vice-monarch). Membership compose of the five (later four) cabinet ministers including the Kuhina Nui and the four island governors, who served as ex-officio members, and other individuals appointed by the monarch to serve at his pleasure. The

1852 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom The 1852 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, written in both English and Hawaiian, was constructed by King Kamehameha III. The purpose of its construction was to not only revise, but add to the 1840 Constitution in great length. The new constitu ...

codified and expanded the role of the body. The role of the Privy Council was to advise and approve all acts made by the monarch such as the declaration of war, granting pardons, convening of the legislature, diplomatic decisions, judicial appointments, gubernatorial appointments, etc. After the death of

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...

without an heir on November 30, 1863, Kuhina Nui

Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...

consulted with the Privy Council and proclaimed their brother Prince Lot Kapuāiwa as

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...

. The new king proclaimed the 1864 Constitution which abolished the post of Kuhina Nui, reduced the power of the Privy Council and empowered the position of the monarch. The subsequent constitutions do not mention the ex-officio membership of island governors on the Privy Council. The Privy Council of State was abolished in 1893 after the

overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-aborig ...

and the deposition of Queen Liliuokalani. The

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

and

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

replaced it with an Advisory Council and later Council of State. Historian

Ralph Simpson Kuykendall Ralph Simpson Kuykendall (April 12, 1885 – May 9, 1963) was an American historian who served as the trustee and secretary of the Hawaiian Historical Society from 1922 to 1932. Kuykendall also served as professor of history at the University ...

notes: "The privy council became a very important body, numerous powers and duties being assigned to it by the 845organic acts" and after 1852 became "a most important feature of the government".

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Overview

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