Pat Saiki, Hawaii’s First Republican Congresswoman, Dies at 96

Pat Saiki, the former Hawaii congresswoman who became the state’s first Republican elected to the U.S. House after statehood, died in Honolulu on September 30 at age 96, according to her family and former associates. Her death was reported as occurring at home; family members said she died of natural causes. Saiki’s election in 1986 made her the second woman to represent Hawaii in Congress. She served two terms in the House, where former press secretary Floyd Takeuchi recalled that she worked to secure Republican support for legislation addressing the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. The measure provided an apology and reparations, according to accounts of her congressional work. After an unsuccessful 1990 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Saiki left Congress and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to lead the Small Business Administration. She held the post from 1991 to 1993. Earlier, she had served in Hawaii’s state House and Senate, chaired the state Republican Party and worked as a public school teacher. Saiki entered politics after becoming involved in organizing educators.