EX-U.S. senator Daniel Akaka dies at age 93
HONOLULU — Former Sen. Daniel Kahikina Akaka, the first Native Hawaiian elected to Congress, died Friday. He was 93.
Akaka died in Honolulu after being hospitalized for several months, said Jon Yoshimura, his former communications director.
The Democrat served 14 years in the U.S. House before he was appointed to replace Sen. Spark Matsunaga in 1990. Akaka won election that fall and voters sent him back for consecutive terms until 2012, when he chose not to seek re-election.
His legislative style was described as low-key, a characterization he embraced.
“I have a Hawaiian style of dealing with my colleagues,” he said.
Akaka developed a reputation as a congenial legislator who made many friends while making few waves in pressing the interests of the 50th state.
“Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka embodied the aloha spirit,” U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-hawaii, said in a statement. “He dedicated his life to serving the people of Hawaii as an educator, and in the U.S. Army, state government, the U.S. House, and the U.S. Senate. In Congress, Senator Akaka’s care, empathy, and collegiality served as an example for us all.”
In 1996, Akaka sponsored legislation that resulted in Medals of Honor for 22 Asian-american soldiers who fought during World War II. Those soldiers included the late Sen. Daniel Inouye.
But Akaka gained the most attention for his fight to pass legislation that carried his name.
The Hawaiian Recognition Bill, known widely as the Akaka Bill, was intended to give Native Hawaiians the same recognition as Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
Born in 1924, Akaka grew up in a devoutly Christian home in Honolulu.
After serving in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, Akaka earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at the University of Hawaii.
Akaka is survived by his wife, Mary Mildred “Millie” Chong, four sons, a daughter and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.