About Mufi

Mufi Hannemann is the 12th mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the 13th largest municipality in the United States.  Following an illustrious career in business, government, and politics, Hannemann took office on January 2, 2005, becoming Honolulu’s first native-born mayor in almost 40 years.

This Harvard-educated leader and former star athlete has the distinction of having served in the administrations of four U.S. Presidents: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Hannemann formerly held posts as director of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, chief of the state’s Office of International Relations, and chairman of the Honolulu City Council. In the private sector, he was a corporate executive with C. Brewer, one of Hawaii’s oldest and largest agribusinesses; created and operated his own business consulting firm and non-profit organization; and was an educator and coach at Iolani School, his high school alma mater.

Hannemann’s goals as mayor have included restoring fiscal integrity and accountability at City Hall, focusing on basic public services, and improving the quality of life for all of Honolulu’s citizens. The focus on City services is directed at ensuring public safety; repairing and maintaining roads; accelerated maintenance of parks and other public facilities; improving an aging sewer system and managing solid waste and recycling; tackling traffic and transportation issues; expanding the use of computer and telecommunication technology for government services; and aggressively promoting business growth and private sector job creation.

Hannemann has drawn on his international experience as a Fulbright Scholar in New Zealand, U.S. Department of the Interior insular affairs specialist, international relations director, and U.S. South Pacific Commissioner to build sister-city relationships and promote trade and commerce.

The mayor is leading the planning and development of the county’s first rail transit system, which is poised to break ground in 2010; played a pivotal role in averting the closure of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii’s largest single industrial employer; greatly expanded public-private partnerships with business and community organizations; embarked on an aggressive, long-term program of infrastructure upgrades; accelerated parks maintenance; and pursued environmental initiatives such as preserving Hanauma Bay and Waimea Valley. Hanauma Bay, in particular, has emerged as a model for eco-tourism, thanks largely to Hannemann’s efforts while a Councilman to preserve this heavily used but fragile natural resource.

Honolulu’s historic Chinatown, an urban renewal priority of the mayor, was recently selected by First Lady Laura Bush for a Preserve America award. In addition to investing in infrastructure and security improvements, Hannemann, while on the Honolulu City Council, spearheaded a successful effort to create an arts enterprise zone in Chinatown, This move has spurred the establishment of art galleries, restaurants and nightclubs, and new business activity, while preserving the historical and cultural character of one of the oldest sections of the city. Meanwhile, another initiative Hannemann championed while on the City Council has led to major changes in the cityscape; his changes to the City’s planning and zoning strategy in the late 1990s is resulting in more than $2 billion in private investment in hotels and retail centers in Waikiki, the engine of Oahu’s visitor industry that had been in urgent need of revitalization.

The City and County of Honolulu’s popular bus system has been acknowledged as a transportation best practice by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, while its police force was only the second department in the nation to earn accreditation for the caliber of its law enforcement. Its fire department enjoys a similar status. The City earned recognition from the National Weather Service as storm- and tsunami-ready, received a certificate of excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association, and copped an outstanding achievement award for a solid waste project from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

More recently, Monocle Magazine and the International Herald-Tribune recently named Honolulu as one of “The World’s Top 10 Most Livable Cities.” The Center for Digital Governments’ Digital Cities survey rated Honolulu eighth in the nation in the category of “American cities that excel in the digital arena.” Sustain Lane chose Honolulu as one of the top 15 most livable cities in the United States, while Prevention Magazine voted Honolulu one of its 10 best “walking cities in America.”  And the FBI named Honolulu the "Safest Big City in America."

Hannemann is a member of the advisory board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and chairman of the group’s standing committee on tourism, arts, parks, entertainment, and sports. Hannemann has been a long-time advocate of the sports and film industries. He led the charge to have tourism and the arts included in the organization’s 10-Point Plan, which spells out the mayors’ national platform.

He was credited with saving the NFL Pro Bowl for Hawaii and for attracting several film projects to the state. Hannemann is the founder-chairman of the Pacific Century Fellows, patterned after the prestigious White House Fellows, for which he was selected to serve under then-Vice President George Bush.

Nationally, Hannemann serves on the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship and was recognized as an outstanding advocate by Easter Seals for his achievements in helping the physically challenged and less-fortunate.

Hannemann is married to Gail Mukaihata Hannemann.