Meet the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission: Gov. John Waiheʻe

After serving as Lt. Governor under Governor George Ariyoshi, Waihe’e became the first Native Hawaiian Governor and served two terms from 1986 to 1994.  His administration created the A-plus after-school-care program, restored more than 16,000 acres of public lands to the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, and created a committee to help define sovereignty.  In 1993, he created the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission.  Waihe’e, 65, became active in politics after serving as a delegate on the 1978 Hawai’i State Constitutional Convention where he was instrumental in the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.  He earned his undergraduate degree at Andrews University in Michigan and was a member of the first graduating class of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai’i.  Waihe’e lives in Honolulu.