Former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi, the 1st US governor of Asian American descent, dies at 100
HONOLULU (AP) — Former Hawaii Gov. George R. Ariyoshi, the nation’s first Asian American governor, has died at the age of 100.
Ariyoshi, a Democrat who led the state from 1973 to 1986, died peacefully Sunday night surrounded by his family, current Gov. Josh Green announced Monday.
“Governor Ariyoshi dedicated his life to Hawaii with humility, discipline and an unwavering sense of responsibility to the people he served,” Green said. “He led our state with quiet strength and integrity at a pivotal moment, and his legacy as a pioneer and public servant will endure for generations.”
Ariyoshi was a three-term governor and first ascended to the post in October 1973. Three years ago, he was elected lieutenant governor and then became lieutenant governor when Gov. John Burns fell ill with cancer.
Ariyoshi won office outright in 1974 and was re-elected in 1978 and 1982. Hawaii governors are now subject to a two-term limit. His political career coincided with the Democratic Party coming to power in Hawaii.
Democrats wrested control of the Legislative Assembly from Republicans in 1954, when Ariyoshi won the first of two terms in the Territorial House of Representatives. He won a territorial Senate seat in 1958 and became a state senator the following year when Hawaii became a state.
Ariyoshi won three more state Senate races in 1964, 1966 and 1968 before becoming lieutenant governor.
George Ryoichi Ariyoshi was born on March 12, 1926, in a two-room apartment near Honolulu Harbor to parents who emigrated from Japan to Hawaii. He grew up in the tough neighborhood of Kalihi near downtown Honolulu.
His father, Ryozo, a sumo wrestler from Fukuoka Prefecture, became a porter and owner of a dry cleaning shop in Hawaii. His mother, Mitsue, came from Kumamoto, Japan.
Ariyoshi wrote in his 1997 autobiography “For Everyone” that he grew up with a lisp.
“Not having money didn’t seem like a disability, but I had a different kind of disability,” he wrote, explaining that he wanted to grow up to be a lawyer if he learned to speak properly.
After graduating from McKinley High School in 1944, Ariyoshi served as a translator for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service in Japan at the end of World War II.
After the war, Ariyoshi attended the University of Hawaii and then transferred to Michigan State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science in 1949. Ariyoshi earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1952.
Ariyoshi, who went to school on the U.S. mainland, didn’t feel like he would be treated any differently. “On the contrary, I liked that Hawaii, even then, was famous for people of different backgrounds coming together and living in harmony,” he wrote in his book.
A year after graduating from law school, he began practicing law in Hawaii. After being elected lieutenant governor, Ariyoshi withdrew from private practice and resigned from various corporate directorships.
He said his decision to apply for the position was influenced by his desire to break down barriers among minorities.
“The new state of Hawaii has produced U.S. representatives and senators of Caucasian, Chinese, and Japanese descent who reflect our diversity,” he wrote. “But only Caucasians became governors.”
Ariyoshi’s term as governor was marked by Hawaii becoming a tourist destination and the population rapidly increasing. “I was convinced that neither our infrastructure nor our environment could support this rate of growth,” he wrote.
In 1975, Ariyoshi and his wife, Jean Hayashi Ariyoshi, attended the first National Governor’s Conference in Washington, D.C., where they were invited by President Gerald Ford to a black tie dinner at the White House.
In her book “Washington Place: A First Lady’s Story,” Jean Ariyoshi wrote that while the couple was getting excited on the dance floor, she stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear: “Look at the little girl from Wahiawa dancing in the White House.”
He replied: “And she’s dancing with the boy from Kalihi.”
John Waiheʻe, who became Ariyoshi’s lieutenant governor in 1982, was elected the first governor of Native Hawaiian ancestry in 1986 with Ariyoshi’s support.
In addition to his wife Jean, Ariyoshi is survived by his daughter Lynn and sons Donn and Ryozo.
