Muliufi Francis Hannemann was raised in the Honolulu community of Kalihi by his German-Samoan father, Gustav Arthur Tafu Tupulo Hannemann III, and Samoan mother, Faiaso Soli'ai, whose grandfather High Chief Muliufi Soliai was one of the original signatories to the deed of cession that transformed Eastern Samoa and the Manua Islands into the US Territory of American Samoa. He attended Fern, Puʻuhale and Kalihi Kai elementary schools up to the seventh grade before being accepted to the ʻIolani School with a scholarship. He graduated with honors and competed in basketball and American football. In the fall of 1972, Hannemann left the Hawaiian Islands to attend Harvard University where he was elected freshman class president and was varsity basketball letterman. Upon graduation from Harvard in 1976, Hannemann continued his studies as a Fulbright Scholar at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.[1] He returned to Honolulu after his studies to become an educator at his alma mater, Iolani School. He was a history teacher and basketball coach.
Business career
In 1981, he took on advisory role on the board of the Schutter Foundation, a not-for-profit civil rights advocacy group started by Hawaii criminal defense attorney David Schutter.[2]
From 1984–1991 his business career was with C. Brewer & Co., at one time one of Hawaii's oldest agri-businesses. At Brewer, he was Vice-President of Corporate Development, Marketing and Public Affairs. He is also the Principal and Founder of MFH Enterprises, a professional consulting firm that does business in Hawaii, the mainland US and the Pacific Rim. In July 2015, he returned to his former position in Hawaii's number one industry, tourism, as the CEO and President of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. HLTA is the state's largest private visitor industry organization and he previously served as the organization's leader from 2010–2011.
In 1986, Hannemann ran for the First District in the U.S. House that was being vacated by Cecil Heftel, who sought the governorship that year. Hannemann won the Democratic primary election but lost the special election to fill Heftel's unexpired term to Neil Abercrombie. He again lost in the general election to Republican candidate Pat Saiki.
Bush administration
He then served as staff assistant to Vice President George H. W. Bush.
1990s
1990 congressional election
In 1990, he ran for Congress again, this time for the Second District seat vacated by Daniel Akaka, who was eventually elected to the U.S. Senate. He lost the Democratic primary to Patsy Mink, who eventually won the seat.
Waihee administration
Hannemann would again be tapped for government service in 1991, appointed by Governor John D. Waiheʻe III as Chairman of the Hawaii Pro Bowl Host Committee, Chairman of the Task Force on Homeporting, Director of the Hawaii Office of International Relations and Director of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
Clinton administration
Having directed various state agencies of the Government of Hawaii, Hannemann was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve at the federal level once again as United States Representative to the South Pacific Commission.
Honolulu City Council
In 1994, Hannemann was elected to the Honolulu City Council representing Aiea and Pearl City, and in 1996 he founded the Pacific Century Fellows Program[3] modeled after the White House Fellows Program. He was re-elected to his seat in 1998. He served as Council Chairman from 1998 to 1999. Differences in opinion with then-Mayor Jeremy Harris led to his resignation from the Council in 2000 to run against Harris. Harris won re-election in the September 2000 non-partisan election with enough votes to avoid a run-off that November.
In 2004 Hannemann again ran for Mayor, this time to replace Harris, who was unable to seek a third full term as Mayor due to term limits. His opponent was former City Council colleague Duke Bainum. The race was considered one of the fiercest and most expensive in the city's history, with both candidates sharply criticizing the other's stands and character. Bainum received the most votes in the September election, but failed to receive the necessary majority to avoid a run-off against Hannemann. In November, Hannemann narrowly won the election with a margin of about 1,300 votes out of nearly 300,000 cast.
Hannemann was sworn in as mayor on January 2, 2005. In his first State of the City address, Hannemann pledged to concentrate on fiscal restraint and basic city services, claiming a contrast between himself and his predecessor. One of his major accomplishments as mayor was overseeing the planning for the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project, which will provide a rail transit system for Honolulu. The project eventually became a major issue when Hannemann came up for reelection in 2008, with his odds of success tied to public perception of it.[4]
On July 20, 2010, Hannemann resigned his position as mayor to compete in the 2010 Hawaii gubernatorial election. City Managing Director Kirk Caldwell assumed the position of interim mayor until a special election was held to determine a permanent replacement.[8][9] On September 18, 2010, Hannemann lost the Democratic primary to Neil Abercrombie by approximately twenty-one percentage points.[10][11]
Hannemann announced his intention to run for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional district seat on August 30, 2011. The incumbent, Mazie Hirono, vacated the seat to run for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Daniel Akaka, who did not seek reelection in 2012.[12][13] He lost the primary election to Tulsi Gabbard on August 11, 2012, by approximately twenty percentage points.[14]
After considering a run for Republican nomination,[15] Hannemann was an independent candidate for Governor,[16] finishing third out of four candidates in the general election with 11.6% of the vote.[17]
On May 31, 2020, Mufi Hannemann announced that he would be filing nomination papers to run for Honolulu Mayor again. On August 8, Hannemann conceded after finishing fifth in a field of 15 with only 9.92% of the primary vote.[18]
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