Peter Aquino Aduja (19 October 1920 – 19 February 2007) was the first

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

elected to public office in the United States. He was elected as a representative in the

Hawaii Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha‘ōlelo kau kānāwai o ka Moku‘āina o Hawai‘i) is the bicameral State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii, consisting of the Hawaii ...

in 1954. Born in the Philippines, Aduja emigrated to Hawaii in his youth, and then served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After World War II, he worked as a teacher, before becoming one of the first Filipino lawyers in Hawaii. After two years in elected office, he worked for the Hawaiian Department of Attorney General, and served two years as a judge, until being elected to 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 ...

. Aduja died in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in 2007.

Early life

Aduja was born in

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and emigrated with his family at the age of eight to

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

. He was raised in nearby

Hakalau, Hawaii Hakalau is a small unincorporated community located along the Hamakua coast about north of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii at . The Hakalau Stream flows from the slopes of Mauna Kea, in the area of and flows int ...

, while his father worked on a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

as a sakada. He attended Hilo High, where he was the

student body president The student government president (sometimes called a student body president, student council president, or simply a school president) is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class presi ...

and an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

, graduating with the class of 1941 as

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

. After high school, he went on to the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in government and history; while attending university Aduja worked as a

timekeeper A timekeeper is a person that measures the passage of time. They may have additional functions in sports and business. Description A timekeeper is a person who measures time with the assistance of a clock or a stopwatch. Functions Sports In ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. In 1944, he joined the

, and along with 50 other individuals volunteered for the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Following

he married Melodie "Lesing" Cabalona (died 2002). He taught on the island of Hawaii, at Naalehu Intermediate School, before attending

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, where he earned a law degree in 1951. In 1953, along with Ben Menor (later a justice on Hawaii's Supreme Court), Aduja took the bar examination, and both became Hawaii's first Filipino lawyers.

Political career

In 1954, Aduja was elected to the

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, becoming the first Filipino to be elected to public office in Hawaii and the United States. He represented one of three seats of the island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. In 1956, he spoke on behalf of the Republican Party at the

ILWU The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada; on the East Coast, the dominant union is the Intern ...

territorial convention in

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

. After a single term in office, he went on to work for the Department of Attorney General. In 1959, he ran for State Senate from Oahu, a year when fellow Republican William F. Quinn was elected as the state's first governor, and lost. From 1960 to 1962, he was a district court judge, resigning from the bench in June 1962. After two years out of the public sector, in 1966, he was elected again to public office, this time as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives. His district included

Kailua Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu on the windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the ahupua'a named Ko'ol ...

, the North Shore, and

Kahuku Kahuku () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. In the Hawaiian language, ''ka huku'' means "the projection", presumably a reference to Kahuku Point nearby, the northernmost point of land on the island of Oahu. As ...

. While a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, he was a delegate at the Hawaii State Constitution's 1968 constitutional convention. Aduja departed the Hawaii House of Representatives in 1974, and returned to the public sector in his final position as a member of the City of

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Kaneohe Kāneohe () is a census-designated place (CDP) included in the City and County of Honolulu and in Hawaii state District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu. In the Hawaiian language, ''kāne ohe'' means "bamboo man". According to an ancient ...

Neighborhood Board, which he was on from 1986 until 1994.

Later years

In 1991, Professor Dan Boylan wrote that Aduja was one of three important Filipino politicians in Hawaii during the beginning era of Filipino politics in Hawaii.Alt URL
/ref> Along with Alfred Laureta and Ben Menor, and a few others minor individuals, they were the few Filipinos in elected office or in significant public office in Hawaii in the mid-20th century. On 19 February 2007, he died while on vacation in Las Vegas. 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 ...

declared 29 March 2007 to be Peter A. Aduja Day. Aduja was survived by two children (one of whom is former

Hawaii state senator 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 ...

Melodie Aduja) and two grandchildren.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aduja, Peter 1920 births 2007 deaths Republican Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature 20th-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature Hawaii state court judges Hawaii politicians of Filipino descent United States Army personnel of World War II American military personnel of Filipino descent Filipino emigrants to the United States University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Boston University School of Law alumni People from Vigan People from Hilo, Hawaii People from Hawaii (island) 20th-century American judges United States Army officers Asian-American people in Hawaii politics Asian conservatism in the United States

Early life

Political career

Later years

See also

References

External links