Representative Saiki photographed in her office in the Longworth House Office Building in 1987.
In memoriam: UH alumna, former U.S. Rep. Pat Saiki
from UH News, October 5, 2026
Patricia “Pat” Saiki, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumna whose decades of public service left a lasting impact on higher education and politics in Hawaiʻi, died on September 30, 2026. She was 96.
Born in Hilo in 1930, Saiki graduated from Hilo High School before earning a bachelor’s degree from UH Mānoa in 1952. She began her career as a teacher before entering politics and serving in both the Hawaiʻi State House and Senate.
Her work in public service included helping advance the development of Kapiʻolani Community College at its Diamond Head campus.
Historic career in public service
Representative Patricia Saiki with President George H.W. Bush
Saiki was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986, becoming the first Republican and second woman elected to represent Hawaiʻi in Congress since statehood. She served two terms from 1987 to 1991.
During her time in Congress, Saiki helped build Republican support for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided an official federal apology and payments to surviving Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II. Saiki later recalled that the issue was personal because a cousin in California was among those incarcerated.
After leaving Congress, Saiki served as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under President George H.W. Bush.
Preserving her legacy at UH Mānoa
Delegate Patricia Saiki at 1968 Constitutional Convention of the State of Hawaiʻi.
Saiki’s connection to UH continued through her decision to donate records from her public service career to Hamilton Library.
The Patricia F. Saiki Papers are housed in UH Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection and primarily document her years in Congress and at the Small Business Administration. The collection includes congressional records, photographs, campaign materials and audiovisual resources that provide researchers with a firsthand record of her career.
Saiki began donating materials in 2005, with the majority of her papers arriving in 2007. Her collection joins the records of other members of Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation preserved at Hamilton Library, helping document Hawaiʻi’s role in national policymaking.