George Ariyoshi

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George Ariyoshi
Ariyoshi in 2011
3rd Governor of Hawaii
In office December 2, 1974 – December 1, 1986 Acting: October 17, 1973 – December 2, 1974
Lieutenant	Nelson Doi Jean King John Waiheʻe
Preceded by	John A. Burns
Succeeded by	John Waiheʻe
5th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
In office December 2, 1970 – December 2, 1974
Governor	John A. Burns
Preceded by	Thomas Gill
Succeeded by	Nelson Doi
Personal details
Born	George Ryoichi Ariyoshi (1926-03-12) March 12, 1926 (age 98) Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jean Hayashi ​ (m. 1955)​
Children	3
Education	University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Michigan State University (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (JD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Unit	Military intelligence
Battles/wars	World War II

George Ryoichi Ariyoshi (Japanese: 有吉 良一, born March 12, 1926) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the third governor of Hawaii from 1974 to 1986. A Democrat, he is Hawaii's longest-serving governor and the first American of Asian descent to serve as governor of a U.S. state. He assumed gubernatorial powers and duties when Governor John A. Burns was declared incapacitated in October 1973 and was elected in 1974 (assuming governorship December 1974), becoming the first Asian-American to be elected governor of a U.S. state or territory. His lengthy tenure is a record likely to remain unbroken due to term limits enacted after he left office. Ariyoshi is now considered an elder statesman of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi.