Linda Lingle

About Linda Lingle

Linda Lingle addresses the National Park Service on the 65th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack

Linda Lingle (born Linda Cutter on June 4, 1953) has been Governor of Hawaii since December 2, 2002. She was sworn in for a second term on December 4, 2006.

Lingle holds a number of distinctions: first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since the departure of William F. Quinn in 1962, first county mayor elected governor of Hawaii, first female governor of Hawaii, first Jewish governor of Hawaii; the first twice-divorced governor of Hawaii; and the first governor not to have any children. She is also the second Jewish woman elected governor of a U.S. state. During the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, Lingle served as chairperson of the convention during the absence of permanent chairperson Dennis Hastert from the convention floor.