JOHN WAIHEE was born in Honokaa, Hawaii. He received his bachelor’s degree in history and business from Andrews University in Michigan, and his law degree from the University of Hawaii in 1976. His political career began with his election to the Constitutional Convention of 1978. In 1980 he was elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives, and in 1982 he was elected lieutenant governor of Hawaii. In 1986 he became Hawaii’s fourth elected governor and the first elected governor of Hawaiian ancestry.