Daniel Akaka

Daniel Akaka is one of two Democratic U.S. senators representing Hawaii. He is the first member of the Senate of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Governor John D. Waihee III appointed Akaka after the death of Sen. Spark Matsunaga in 1990. Akaka is the only current senator who has been re-elected several times after being appointed. He may be best known today for his pursuit since 2000 of legislation, known as the Akaka Bill, to recognize a Native Hawaiian governing entity.

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