Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: 広野 慶子, Hirono Keiko; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013. She has been the dean of Hawaii's congressional delegations since 2013, when Senator Daniel Akaka retired. Hirono also served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1994 and as Hawaii's tenth lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002. She was the Democratic nominee for governor of Hawaii in 2002, but lost to Republican Linda Lingle.
Hirono is the first elected female senator from Hawaii, the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, the first U.S. senator born in Japan, and the nation's first Buddhist senator although she considers herself a non-practicing Buddhist. She is often cited with Hank Johnson as the first Buddhist to serve in the United States Congress. She is also the third woman to be elected to Congress from Hawaii (after Patsy Mink and Pat Saiki).
In 2012, Hirono was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Akaka. Hirono won the election, defeating Lingle in a landslide, 63% to 37%. She was sworn in on January 3, 2013, by Vice President Joe Biden. Hirono was the only person of Asian ancestry serving in the U.S. Senate from 2013 until 2017, when senators Tammy Duckworth and Kamala Harris were sworn in, representing Illinois and California, respectively. Hirono is Hawaii's junior senator, and Brian Schatz is its senior senator. She was reelected to the Senate in 2018 and won a third term against Republican nominee Bob McDermott in 2024. She is expected to be the oldest serving female U.S. senator when Jeanne Shaheen retires in 2027.
Mazie Hirono was born on November 3, 1947, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan to Laura Chie Satō, a Japanese American, and Hirono Matabe, a Japanese veteran of World War II. Laura decided to return to Hawaii with Mazie and one of Mazie's brothers in March 1955. Hirono never saw her father again before he died. Laura became a newspaper proofreader in 1961 and retired from the Hawaii Newspaper Agency in 1986.
Raised in Honolulu, Hirono became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1959. She graduated from Kaimuki High School, which had a predominantly Japanese American student body at the time. Hirono then enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1970. She later attended Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 1978. Hirono then returned to Honolulu, where she practiced law.
Hawaii House of Representatives (1981–1994)
In 1980, Hirono was elected to Hawaii's 12th House district in a multi-member district with Democratic State Representative David Hagino. Hawaii eliminated multi-member districts, and after redistricting she ran for Hawaii's 20th House district and won. After redistricting again in 1984, she ran successfully for the newly redrawn 32nd House District. In 1992, after redistricting, she ran one last time in the newly redrawn 22nd House district. She easily won the three-candidate Democratic primary with 91% of the vote. She won the general election and served only one term in the 22nd district before retiring in 1994 to run for statewide office.
Hirono served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1994, sponsoring many bills that became state law.
From 1987 to 1992, she was Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee.
Lieutenant governor (1994–2002)
Hirono ran for lieutenant governor of Hawaii and won the Democratic primary, defeating fellow State Representative Jackie Young 65%–26%. In the general election she defeated three other candidates: Danny Kaniela Kaleikini (Best Party), State Representative Fred Hemmings (Republican Party), and Jack Morse (Green Party), 37%–31%–29%–4%.
Hirono ran for reelection in 1998. She defeated Nancy Cook in the primary with 89% of the vote to Cook's 11%. In the general election, Hirono defeated Republican State Senator Stan Koki, 50%–49%, a margin of only 5,254 votes.
The election of the Democratic ticket was historic for both candidates. Ben Cayetano was the first Filipino American elected governor, and Hirono was the first Japanese immigrant to be elected lieutenant governor.
During her tenure as lieutenant governor, Hirono was president of the National Commission on Teaching, America's Future, and the Hawaii Policy Group. She also spearheaded the Pre-Plus program, a first-in-the-nation comprehensive universal preschool education program.
Hirono originally planned to run for mayor of Honolulu in a potential 2002 special election created by the vacancy of incumbent Mayor Jeremy Harris, who was planning to resign to run for governor of Hawaii. But due to internal controversies, Harris dropped out of the gubernatorial election and remained mayor for another two years. Hirono switched races.
Hirono worked to gain the support of Hawaii Democrats in her primary against former State House Majority Leader Ed Case. After polling almost equally throughout the race, Hirono defeated Case in the September 21 Democratic primary with 41% of the vote to Case's 40%, a margin of 2,613 votes.
In the general election, Republican nominee and Maui Mayor Linda Lingle defeated Hirono 52–47%, becoming Hawaii's first female governor.
U.S. House of Representatives (2007–2013)