Kalākaua's Cabinet Ministers
Name Cabinet post Notes
Luther Aholo Minister of the Interior Oct 13 , 1886 -July 1 , 1887 Represented Lahaina , Maui in the legislature , vice president of the Legislative Assembly 1876-1886 ; Postmaster General of the Kingdom 1886
William Nevins Armstrong Attorney General Nov 29 , 1880 - Jan 17 , 1881 Nov 5 , 1881- May 19 , 1882 Kalākaua 's classmate at the Chiefs Children 's School ; graduate of Yale University law school ; he took leave as Attorney General to join Kalākaua 's 1881 world tour
Clarence W. Ashford Attorney General July 1 , 1887 - June 14 , 1890 Reform cabinet ; he was exiled to California for his support of Liliʻuokalani following the overthrow of the kingdom
Jonathan Austin Minister of Foreign Affairs Dec 28 , 1887 - June 17 , 1890 President of Paukaa Sugar Company
Charles Reed Bishop Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan 10 , 1873 - Feb 17 , 1874 Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet ; husband of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop ; businessman and philanthropist ; at Kalākaua 's bedside when he died January 20 , 1891
Godfrey Brown Minister of Foreign Affairs July 1 - Dec 28 , 1887 Minister of Finance June 17 , 1890 - Feb 25 , 1891 Reform cabinet ( as Minister of Foreign Affairs ) ; after Kalākaua 's death , Brown remained as finance minister until Liliʻuokalani installed Herman A. Widemann in the position
John Edward Bush Minister of Foreign Affairs ( acting ) Aug 19 - Sept 22 , 1880 Minister of Finance May 20 - Aug 8 , 1882 Minister of the Interior Aug 8 , 1882 - May 14 , 1883 During the Gibson regime , Bush was special envoy to Samoa in an ill-fated attempt to form a Polynesian alliance with Samoan King Malietoa Laupepa
Henry A. P. Carter Minister of Foreign Affairs Dec 5 , 1876 - Mar 1 , 1878 Attorney General ( during Armstrong 's absence ) Jan 17 - Nov 5 , 1881 Career diplomat ; majority owner of C. Brewer & Co sugar plantation
William Richards Castle Attorney General Feb 15 - Dec 5 , 1876 A member of the Committee of Safety that requested American intervention in overthrowing the monarchy
Robert James Creighton Minister of Foreign Affairs June 30 - Oct 13 , 1886 Friend of Claus Spreckels who arrived from San Francisco in 1885 to be editor of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser ; his son Charles F. Creighton briefly served as Liliʻuokalani 's Attorney General
John Adams Cummins Minister of Foreign Affairs June 17 , 1890 - Feb 25 , 1891 Maternal link to Hawaiian royalty ; wealthy businessman with global social ties ; after Kalākaua 's death , Cummins remained until Liliʻuokalani installed Samuel Parker in the position
Samuel Mills Damon Minister of Finance July 22 , 1889 - June 17 , 1890 Son of missionaries ; became business partner of Charles Reed Bishop
John T. Dare Attorney General July 1- Oct 13 , 1886 Legal counsel to Claus Spreckels ; Assistant District Attorney of San Francisco prior to arriving in Hawaii
Walter M. Gibson Minister of Foreign Affairs May 20 , 1882 - June 30 , 1886 Oct 13 , 1886 - July 1 , 1887 Attorney General ( acting ) May 14- Dec 14 , 1883 Sept 18 , 1884 - Aug 3 , 1885 ( ad interim ) Minister of the Interior ( acting ) May 14 , 1883 - Aug 6 , 1883 June 30 , 1886 - Oct 13 , 1886 Prime Minister June 30 , 1886 - Oct 13 , 1886 Enabled Kalākaua 's excessive spending and grandiose schemes ; as Legislative Assembly Finance Chair : $ 50,000 for a new palace , $ 10,000 for a coronation , and $ 10,000 for a statue of Kamehameha ; as Prime Minister : $ 15,000 for the king 's birthday jubilee ; he encouraged a Polynesian confederation , with the king as the head : $ 100,000 to buy a steamship , with $ 50,000 for operating expenses , and $ 35,000 for foreign missions
William Lowthian Green Minister of Finance July 1 , 1887 - July 22 , 1889 Minister of Foreign Affairs Feb 17 , 1874 - Dec 5 , 1876 Sept 22 , 1880 - May 20 , 1882 Minister of the Interior ( acting ) May 28 , 1874 - Oct 31 , 1874 Geologist and businessman ; the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 was ratified while he was Minister of Foreign Affairs ; Kalākaua requested Green choose a new cabinet to replace the Gibson cabinet
Charles T. Gulick Minister of the Interior Aug 6 , 1883 - June 30 , 1886 ( acting ) Minister of Finance Sept 1 , 1885 Nephew of missionary Peter Johnson Gulick , he supported the monarchy and would later be sentenced for his participation in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion
Edwin Oscar Hall Minister of the Interior Feb 12 , 1874 - Feb 17 , 1874 Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet ; replaced by Hermann A. Widemann ; printer , editor and businessman , he was part of the Seventh Company of missionaries that arrived in Hawaii in 1835 ; served as Minister of Finance under Kamehameha III
Alfred S. Hartwell Attorney General Feb 18 - May 28 , 1874 Dec 5 , 1876 - July 3 , 1878 Justice of the Supreme Court Sept 30 , 1868 - Feb 18 , 1874 The July 3 , 1878 cabinet dismissal was due to pressure from Gibson , whose want of confidence resolution failed in the legislature , as well as pressure from Claus Spreckels who wanted water rights for his Maui plantation , and generally from Kalākaua 's dissatisfaction with them
W. Claude Jones Attorney General Aug 14 , 1880 - Sept 27 , 1880 An adventurer who had various careers and political connections in Missouri , New Mexico and Arizona before relocating to Hawaii in 1866 ; objections to his appointment as Attorney General were based on his second-rate standing as a lawyer ; replaced by John Smith Walker
Albert Francis Judd Attorney General Feb 12- 19 , 1874 Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet ; appointed Associate Justice of Supreme Court of Hawaii on February 1 , 1874 , becoming Chief Justice on November 5 , 1881
Cabinet ministers 1874–1891
When King Kalākaua began his reign on February 12, 1874, the monarch was constitutionally empowered to appoint and remove the Kingdom of Hawaii cabinet ministers. The four cabinet positions were Attorney General, Ministrer of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior. The royal cabinet ministers were also ex-officio members of the House of Nobles in the legislature and the Privy Council of State, a larger body of advisors. The 1875 Reciprocity Treaty with the United States eliminated tariffs on the kingdom's sugar exports, bringing an accelerated upswing in the Hawaii's economic prosperity. Kalākaua and his cabinet head Walter Murray Gibson responded with reckless spending and grandiose schemes. The criteria for appointment to the cabinet changed from being qualified to advise the head of state, to being willing to enable the monarch's course of state. Kalākaua dismissed his entire cabinet on August 14, 1880. Samuel Gardner Wilder was replaced by John E. Bush as Minister of the Interior. Attorney General Edward Preston was replaced by W. Claude Jones. Minister of Finance Simon Kaloa Kaʻai was replaced by Moses Kuaea. Celso Caesar Moreno was denied recognition by the diplomatic corps stationed in Hawaii when he replaced Minister of Foreign Affairs John Mākini Kapena. Moreno resigned on August 18.