A PHOTO RETROSPECTIVE
Patsy Takemoto Mink: 1927-2002 
• Hawai'i, nation lose 'a powerful voice'
• Political fallout raises hopes and doubts
• Mink remembered for her resolve, integrity
• Editorial: Patsy Mink: A true champion of the people
• What happens next?
• Spud Lewis: Mink paved way for female athletes to get in game
• Send your tributes, condolences
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Patsy Mink, chairman of the Young Democrats of Oahu and the first woman lawyer of Japanese ancestry to practice law in the Territory, announced her candidacy for the House of Representatives.
Advertiser library photo • July 1956 |
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In 1964, she ran for Congress and won election, becoming the first woman of Asian ancestry to serve in the U.S. Congress.
Advertiser library photo • July 1964 |
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Bedecked with lei, Patsy Mink, left, departed Hawai'i for Washington, D.C., with her daughter, Gwendolyn, and husband, John.
Advertiser library photo • December 1964 |
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President Lyndon Johnson greeted Mink in the White House during a reception for the 74 newly elected members of Congress.
Advertiser library photo • December 1964 |
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Mink and then-New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were guests of the New York convention of the National Association for Retarded Children. Six-year-old Dickie Bach was the association's poster boy.
Advertiser library photo • October 1965 |
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Patsy and John Mink had one child, daughter, Gwendolyn, who held a striking resemblance to her mother.
Advertiser library photo • September 1966 |
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Mink and Spark Matsunaga discussed a point while on the campaign trail during the 1968 election.
Advertiser library photo • October 1968 |
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In one of her most controversial actions, Mink and Rep. Bella Abzug of New York, right, met with Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh, chief delegate of the Viet Cong to the Paris peace talks.
Advertiser library photo • March 1975 |
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Although known for her liberal views, Mink said she disagreed with the Hawai'i organization Democratic Action Group when it called for the removal from office of then-Gov. George Ariyoshi and his allies.
Advertiser library photo • July 1978 |
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By 1984, Patsy Mink was back in Hawai'i and serving as chairwoman of the City Council. Here she presided over a hearing on rent assistance for the military.
Advertiser library photo • April 1984 |
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A five-man GOP bloc lead by Democrat-turned-Republic George Akahane, ousted Mink as council chairwoman in 1985. Mink predicted the council would be "reduced to a rubberstamp" that would function at the pleasure of then-Mayor Frank Fasi.
Advertiser library photo • June 1985 |
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In 1986, Mink attempted a run at the governor's race. "It's all or nothing," she said at the time, but her effort was not successful.
Advertiser library photo • August 1986 |
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As was true throughout her career, Mink's daughter, Gwendolyn, and husband, John, were often at her side as she campaigned.
Advertiser library photo • September 1986 |
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In 1990, voters sent Patsy Mink back to Congress representing the 2nd District (Rural O'ahu, Neighbor Islands). In a strong, stirring voice that had become her trademark, Mink said Democrats have never waivered from the fundamental party idea of using "the force of government for the good of all."
Advertiser library photo • September 1990 |
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Mink met reporters on Capitol Hill in 1997 to call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to support Bill Lann Lee’s nomination to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
Advertiser library photo • November 1997 |
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Patsy Mink and Gov. Cayetano talk during the Democratic Convention held at the Sheraton Hotel in Waikiki.
Advertiser library photo • May 1998 |
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Mink and Sen. Daniel Inouye heard public comment on the native Hawaiian recognition bill at the Neal Blaisdell Center.
Advertiser library photo • August 2000 |
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Patsy Mink, Sen. Daniel Akaka and Congressman Neil Abercrombie celebrated during a lei draping ceremony for the newly installed King Kamehameha statue at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Advertiser library photo • June 2000 |
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Mink draped the first lei on the statue of Kamehameha in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill.
Advertiser library photo • June 2000 |
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U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink: 1927-2002
Advertiser library photo • September 2002 |
