Robert Kiyoshi Fukuda (Japanese:福田 清,[1] 1922 – July 12, 2013) was an Americanpolitician,lawyer and former member of theHawaii House of Representatives from 1959 to 1962.[2]
Fukuda was born inHonolulu,Hawaii, in 1922.[3] He earned abachelor's degree from theUniversity of Hawaii.[2] He then served in theUnited States ArmyMilitary Intelligence Service duringWorld War II as aJapanese languageinterpreter andtranslator.[2]
Fukuda later became a lawyer for the Hawaiian Homes Commission and theHawaiian Homelands department for theTerritory of Hawaii.[2] He served as the deputy Attorney General for the Territory of Hawaii from 1953 until 1959.[2]
In 1959, Fukuda was elected to the inauguralHawaii State Legislature as a member of theHawaii House of Representatives.[2] He served in the House for three years.[2] Fukuda later served as a United States Attorney in Hawaii from 1969 to 1973. He also became the manager of theUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development's programs inHawaii andGuam from 1982 to 1986.[2]
In 2010, he was one of 6,000Japanese American veterans ofWorld War II to be awarded theCongressional Gold Medal.[2]
Robert Fukuda died on July 12, 2013, at the age of 91.[3][4]Hawaiian GovernorNeil Abercrombie ordered all American and state flags to fly at half staff on August 11, 2013, in Fukuda's honor.[2]