Daniel Kahikina Akaka (/əˈkɑːkə/;[2] September 11, 1924 – April 6, 2018) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013.

Born in Honolulu, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II.

His paternal grandfather was born in Shantou, Guangdong, China, and his other grandparents were of Native Hawaiian descent.

During World War II he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, including service on Saipan and Tinian.

[11] Akaka worked as a high school teacher in Honolulu from 1953 until 1960, when he was hired as a vice principal.

[9] In 1969, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare hired Akaka as a chief program planner.

Akaka continued working in government, holding positions as director of the Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity, human resources assistant for Governor George Ariyoshi, and director of the Progressive Neighborhoods Program.

[16] For the 2006 election, he overcame a strong primary challenge from U.S. Representative Ed Case,[17] then won a third full term with 61 percent of the vote, defeating Cynthia Thielen.

[18] In 1996, Akaka sponsored legislation that led to nearly two-dozen Medals of Honor being belatedly awarded to Asian-American soldiers in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion.

[20] The Akaka Bill has been supported as a means of restoring Hawaiian self-determination lost with the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

[26] In February 2009, a bill was authored in the Philippine House of Representatives by Rep. Antonio Diaz seeking to confer honorary Filipino citizenship on Akaka, Senators Daniel Inouye and Ted Stevens and Representative Bob Filner, for their role in securing the passage of benefits for Filipino World War II veterans.