Governors of Hawaii (island)

For Governors of the U.S. state of Hawaii, see List of Governors of Hawaii.

The Governor of Hawaiʻi Island (Hawaiian: Kiaʻaina o na Mokupuni o Hawaiʻi) was the royal governor or viceroy of the Island of Hawaiʻi during the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Hawaii was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. There were no restriction of women in government in the House of Nobles or Governship of the islands. The Governor had authority over the island of Hawaii, the biggest island in the kingdom, and it was up to the governor to appoint lieutenant governors to assisted them. The governor had replaced the old Aliʻis of the islands, but sovereignty remained with the king.

Role

In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii it states:

There shall be four governors over these Hawaiian Islands - one for Hawaiʻi - one for Maui and the Islands adjacent - one for Oʻahu, and one for Kauaʻi and the adjacent Islands. All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject to the King.

The prerogatives of the governors and their duties, shall be as follows: Each governor shall have the general direction of the several tax gatherers of his island, and shall support them in the execution of all their orders which he considers to have been properly given, but shall pursue a course according to law, and not according to his own private views. He also shall preside over all the judges of his island, and shall see their sentences executed as above. He shall also appoint the judges and give them their certificates of office.

All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject not only to the King, but also to the Premier.

The governor shall be the superior over his particular island or islands. He shall have charge of the munitions of war, under the direction of the King, however, and the Premier. He shall have charge of the forts, the soldiery, the arms and all the implements of war. He shall receive the government dues and shall deliver over the same to the Premier. All important decisions rest with him in times of emergency, unless the King or Premier be present. He shall have charge of all the King's business on the island, the taxation, new improvements to be extended, and plans for the increase of wealth, and all officers shall be subject to him. He shall also have power to decide all questions, and transact all island business which is not by law assigned to others.

When either of the governors shall decease, then all the chiefs shall assemble at such place as the King shall appoint, and shall nominate a successor of the deceased governor, and whosoever they shall nominate and be approved by the King, he shall be the new governor.

List of Governors of Hawaiʻi Island

#	Name	Picture	Birth	Death	Assumed Office	Left Office	Years in office	Notes	Monarch
Direct Rule by King Kamehameha I.
1	Mokuhia		Appointed but assassinated soon after						Kamehameha I
2	John Young ʻOlohana	75px	c. 1742	December 17, 1835	c. 1802	c. 1812	10		Kamehameha I
Direct Rule by King Kamehameha I, later Queen Kaahumanu and King Kamehameha II.
3	John Adams Kiiapalaoku Kuakini	75px	c. 1789	December 9, 1844	c. 1820	April 1, 1831	11		Kamehameha III
									Kamehameha II
4	Naihe		?	December 29, 1831	April 1, 1831	December 29, 1831	8 months	acting	Kamehameha III
5	John Adams Kiiapalaoku Kuakini	75px	c. 1789	December 9, 1844	c. 1833?	December 9, 1844	11	second time	Kamehameha III
6	William Pitt Leleiohoku I		March 31, 1821	October 21, 1848	December 9, 1844	c. 1846	2		Kamehameha III
7	George Luther Kapeau		?	October, 1860	c. 1846	c. 1855	9	acting until July 1850 deputy was John Makini Kapena	Kamehameha III
8	Ruth Keʻelikōlani	75px	February 9, 1826	May 24, 1883	January 15, 1855	c. 1874	19	Lt. Governor was Rufus Anderson Lyman	Kamehameha IV
									Kamehameha V
									Lunalilo
9	Samuel Kipi	75px	May 4, 1825	March 11, 1879	March 2, 1874	March 11, 1879	5	Died in office	Kalākaua
10	Miriam Kapili Kekāuluohi Likelike	75px	January 13, 1851	February 2, 1887	March 29, 1879	c. 1880	1		Kalākaua
11	Victoria Kūhiō Kinoiki Kekaulike II	75px	May 12, 1843	January 18, 1884	September 2, 1880	January 8, 1884	4		Kalākaua
12	Virginia Kapoʻoloku Poʻomaikelani	75px	April 7, 1839	October 2, 1895	January 21, 1884	c. 1886	2		Kalākaua
13	Ululani Lewai Baker	75px	c. 1858	October 5, 1902	October 15, 1886	c. 1888	2		Kalākaua
14	John Tamatoa Baker	75px	c. 1852	September 7, 1921	February 8, 1892	February 28, 1893		husband of Governor Ululani Baker	Liliuokalani

See also

• List of Governors of Hawaii
  • Governors of Oahu
  • Governors of Kauai
  • Governors of Maui
• Alii Aimoku of Hawaii
• Mayor of Hawaii County

References

• Royal Governors in Hawaiʻi State Archives
• List of Governors of Hawaiʻi Island in Hawaiʻi State Archives