Helene Hale (March 23, 1918 – February 1, 2013) was an American politician from the state of Hawaii. [1]
Hale was born Helene Eleanor Hilyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 23, 1918. [2] [3] From 1955 until 1963 she served on the County of Hawaii Board of Supervisors. From 1963 until 1965 she was the County's Chairman and Executive Officer (a forerunner of the mayoral position). In that position, she was the first woman to serve as a mayor in Hawaii. [3]
The Merrie Monarch Festival began in 1963 when Helene Hale, then Executive Officer of Hawaii, decided to create an event to increase tourism to the Island of Hawaii. [4]
In 2000, at the age of 82, Hale won a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives as a Democrat. [2] She served six years representing the 4th district in the legislature before retiring in 2006 following a stroke.
Hale was multiracial, her grandfather was the first African-American to graduate from the University of Minnesota and her uncle Ralph Bunche was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was pictured on the cover of Ebony in 1963. [5]
References
- ^ "Former Big Island lawmaker Helene Hale dies at 94 - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL". Hawaii News Now. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ^ a b John Burnett (February 3, 2013). "State's first woman mayor dies at 94". West Hawaii Today. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
- ^ a b Burnett, John (2013-02-03). "Helen Hale remembered as 'amazing woman'". Hawaii Tribune Herald. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
- ^ "History of the Merrie Monarch Festival". Merrie Monarch Festival official site. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ "Hawaii's Top Woman Politician". Ebony: 1, 51–56. April 1963.
External links
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- 1918 births
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- 20th-century mayors of places in Hawaii
- Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
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- African-American state legislators in Hawaii
- African-American women in politics
- Politicians from Minneapolis
- 20th-century African-American people
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- Women mayors of places in Hawaii
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