Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Incumbent Sylvia Luke since December 5, 2022
Government of Hawaii
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	James Kealoha
Formation	August 21, 1959 (65 years ago) (1959-08-21)
Website	Office of the Lt. Governor

The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is like the assistant leader of the U.S. state of Hawaii. They help the governor of Hawaii run the state and its different departments. This important job is described in the Constitution of Hawaii.

People in Hawaii vote for the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor at the same time. The person who gets this job also acts as Hawaii's Secretary of State. This means they handle official state documents and records.

If the Governor can't do their job for any reason, the Lieutenant Governor steps in as the acting Governor. Historically, Hawaii's Lieutenant Governors have been members of either the Hawaii Democratic Party or the Hawaii Republican Party. Four people who were Lieutenant Governor later became Governor of Hawaii: George Ariyoshi, Ben Cayetano, John D. Waiheʻe III, and Josh Green.

Becoming Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii

To become the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, there are a few rules. The person can only serve for two terms, and each term lasts four years. A new term starts on the first Monday in December after the election. It ends exactly four years later at noon.

Who can be Lieutenant Governor?

To be eligible for this job, a person must be at least 30 years old. They also need to have lived in Hawaii for five years in a row right before the election. Unlike some other states, the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii works full-time. This means they cannot have other jobs or get paid for other work while they are in office.

Past Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii

Many people have served as Lieutenant Governor since Hawaii became a state. Here is a list of the people who have held this important position. You can see which political party they belonged to and which Governor they worked with.

Political Parties

      Democratic (14)       Republican (2)

#	Picture	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	April 13, 1966	Democratic	John A. Burns
3		Andrew T. F. Ing	April 13, 1966	December 2, 1966	Democratic
4		Thomas Gill	December 2, 1966	December 2, 1970	Democratic
5		George Ariyoshi	December 2, 1970	December 2, 1974	Democratic
6		Nelson Doi	December 2, 1974	December 2, 1978	Democratic	George Ariyoshi
7		Jean King	December 2, 1978	December 2, 1982	Democratic
8		John D. Waiheʻe	December 2, 1982	December 2, 1986	Democratic
9		Ben Cayetano	December 2, 1986	December 2, 1994	Democratic	John D. Waiheʻe
10		Mazie Hirono	December 2, 1994	December 2, 2002	Democratic	Ben Cayetano
11		Duke Aiona	December 4, 2002	December 6, 2010	Republican	Linda Lingle
12		Brian Schatz	December 6, 2010	December 26, 2012	Democratic	Neil Abercrombie
13		Shan Tsutsui	December 27, 2012	December 1, 2014	Democratic
			December 1, 2014	January 31, 2018		David Ige
14		Doug Chin	February 2, 2018	December 3, 2018	Democratic
15		Josh Green	December 3, 2018	December 5, 2022	Democratic
16		Sylvia Luke	December 5, 2022	Incumbent	Democratic	Josh Green