Gilbert Samuel Coloma Keith-Agaran (born September 27, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii State Senate ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President ...

, representing the 5th district from 2013 to 2023. He previously represented the 9th district in the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives () is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, 1978 constit ...

from 2009 to 2013.

Early life and education

Keith-Agaran was born in

Wailuku, Hawaii Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui Island, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In th ...

. After graduating from Maui High School, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Keith-Agaran returned to Hawaii, eventually working as a partner at Takitani Agaran Jorgensen & Wildman LLLP. He served as the first deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, director of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and as the deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. In January 2009, Keith-Agaran was appointed by Governor

Linda Lingle Linda Lingle (; June 4, 1953) is an American politician who served as the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. She was the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since 1959, and was the state's first female and first Jewish govern ...

to serve out the rest of the term of Representative Bob Nakasone, who died on December 7, 2008. Keith-Agaran served as a member of the

from 2009 to 2013. In January 2013, Governor

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a ...

appointed Keith-Agaran to the

Hawaii State Senate The Hawaii State Senate ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President o ...

to represent the seat for District 5, which was vacated by

Shan Tsutsui Shan S. Tsutsui (born August 9, 1971) is an American politician who was the 13th lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 2012 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously a member of the Hawaii Senate from 2003 to 2012, and he served a ...

. Since 2014, Keith-Agaran has served as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the 2013–2014 legislative session, he served as vice chair of the Senate Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. Since 2019, he has also served as vice chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and Senate Water and Land Committee. In August 2023, Keith-Agaran announced his resignation from the Hawaii Senate, effective October 31, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith-Agaran, Gilbert Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Yale University alumni UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Lawyers from Hawaii Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Democratic Party Hawaii state senators People from Wailuku, Hawaii 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature