Mazie Hirono : Ask Biography

Personal data

Date of birth

November 03, 1947(age 69)

Place of birth

Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Political party

Democratic

Spouse

Leighton Kim Oshima

Residence

Honolulu, Hawaii

Alma mater

University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Georgetown University

Occupation

attorney

Religion

Buddhism (non-practicing)

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district

Assumed office

January 3, 2007

Preceded by

Ed Case

9^th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii

In office

December 2, 1994 - December 2, 2002

Governor

Ben Cayetano

Succeeded by

James Aiona

Preceded by

Ben Cayetano

Home | Office Holder | Mazie Hirono

|} is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

She was the second Asian immigrant elected lieutenant governor of a state of the United States. She ran against Linda Lingle for governor of Hawaii in 2002, one of the few gubernatorial races in United States history where two major parties nominated women to challenge each other. She considers herself a non-practicing Buddhist, and is often cited with Hank Johnson (D-Georgia), as the first Buddhist to serve in the United States Congress. She is the third woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii (after Patsy Mink and Pat Saiki). On May 19, 2011, Hirono announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Senator Daniel Akaka.