Linda Lingle

Linda Lingle, born on June fourth, nineteen fifty-three, is a prominent American politician and publisher who made history as the sixth governor of Hawaii, serving from two thousand two to two thousand ten. As a member of the Republican Party, she holds the distinction of being the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since nineteen fifty-nine, as well as the state's first female and Jewish governor.

Before her tenure as governor, Lingle was the mayor of Maui County from nineteen ninety-one to nineteen ninety-nine and chaired the Hawaii Republican Party from nineteen ninety-nine to two thousand two. Remarkably, as of two thousand twenty-five, she and her lieutenant governor, Duke Aiona, remain the last Republicans to have held or won statewide office in Hawaii.

During the two thousand four Republican National Convention in New York City, Lingle took on a significant role as chair of the convention in the absence of permanent chair Dennis Hastert. In two thousand twelve, she was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate, competing for an open seat left by retiring U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka, although she was not successful in her bid.

In January two thousand fifteen, Lingle was appointed as a senior adviser to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, a position she held until July two thousand sixteen. She also contributed her expertise to the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. After moving back to Hawaii in the second quarter of two thousand seventeen, she joined the board of trustees at Hawaii Pacific University in June of that year.