Hirono, Mazie (1947-…), became a United States senator in 2013. Hirono, a Democrat, represents Hawaii. Prior to her election to the Senate, Hirono had served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Hirono was the first immigrant woman of Asian ancestry to be a member of the U.S. Congress.
Mazie Keiko Hirono was born in Fukushima, Japan, on Nov. 3, 1947. She spent her early years on her grandparents’ rice farm. When Hirono was nearly 8 years old, she moved with her mother and older brother to Hawaii, which at that time was a U.S. territory. Two years later, Hirono’s grandparents and younger brother joined the family in Hawaii. In 1959, the year Hawaii became a state, Hirono became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Hirono earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1970. She received a law degree from Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., in 1978. After earning her law degree, Hirono returned to Hawaii, where she became a deputy attorney general for the state. Hirono then worked as an attorney for a private law firm.
In 1980, Hirono won election to the state House of Representatives, where she served for 14 years. In 1994, she was elected Hawaii’s lieutenant governor. She was reelected to the position in 1998. In 2006, Hirono won election to the U.S. House. Over her three terms in the House, she focused on education, transportation, and issues important to Asian Americans. In 2012, Hirono became the first Asian American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. She is also the first senator born in Japan and the first Buddhist to be elected to the chamber. Hirono was reelected in 2018.
