Esther Kia’aina is confirmed as Insular Assistant Secretary

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate confirmed Esther Puekela Kia’aina on Friday to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas. Kia’aina was nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in September and renominated on Jan. 6 at the beginning of the second session of the 113th Congress.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) issued the following congratulatory statement: “My congratulations to Ms. Kia’aina on her confirmation by the U.S. Senate to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas. The office she will be heading plays a vital role in helping the Northern Mariana Islands and the other U.S. insular areas develop our economies, build public infrastructure, and nurture our human resources.

“I know that, as Assistant Secretary, Ms. Kia’aina will bring a new sense of urgency and direction to those efforts. And I thank President Obama for filling this vital position with a person of Ms. Kia’aina’s energy and expertise.

“Ms. Kia’aina and I have known each others since the 1980s, when we worked together for Hawaii Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. I look forward to working together again, she as Assistant Secretary and I as Ranking Member on the House subcommittee responsible for insular affairs, for the benefit of America’s island jurisdictions.”

Kia’aina has a long familiarity with insular issues. In addition to her time with Inouye, she worked as a Legislative Assistant with his Hawaii counterpart, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka. She followed with time as chief of staff and Legislative Director for Delegate Robert A. Underwood (D-Guam) from 1999 to 2003 and as chief of staff for Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) from 2003 to 2007.

Before her nomination, Kia’aina served as First Deputy Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources for Hawaii under Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

“I thought it particularly fitting that the senior senator from Hawaii, Mazie K. Hirono, should be presiding over the U.S. Senate, when Ms. Kia’aina was confirmed [Friday],” Sablan remarked. “We are all proud to see a Pacific Islander leading the Office of Insular Affairs again.”

Kia’aina received a B.A. from the University of Southern California and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. (Office of the Delegate)