Daniel Kahikina Akaka

Who is Daniel Kahikina Akaka?

Daniel Kahikina Akaka is an American politician who was a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Akaka is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry.

Born in Honolulu, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He attended the University of Hawaii, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees. Originally a high school teacher, he went on to serve as a principal for six years. In 1969, he was hired by the Department of Education as a chief program planner. In the 1970s, he served in various governmental positions. He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1976 to represent Hawaii's Second Congressional District, and he served for 13 years. In 1990, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to succeed the deceased Spark Matsunaga. Akaka would later be re-elected to three full terms. In March 2011, he announced that he would not run for re-election in 2012. After fellow senator Daniel Inouye died on December 17, 2012, Akaka became the state's senior senator, and remained so briefly until he left office on January 3, 2013.