The Governor of Oʻahu was the royal governor or viceroy of the island of Oʻahu in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Oʻahu resided at Honolulu and was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. The Governor had authority over the island of Oahu and Honolulu the kingdom's capital and it was up to the governor to appoint lieutanant governors to assisted them. The governor had replaced the old alii aimokus of the islands, but sovereignty remained with the king. Either the governor or the monarch had the power to call in foreign assistance in time of troubles. This occurred a few times, including the uprising of the Emmaites in 1874 when John Owen Dominis called for British and American assistance. Neither the governor nor monarch called for foreign assistance in January 1893 when John L. Stevens sent American troops into Honolulu.
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In the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii it states:
There shall be four governors over these Hawaiian Islands - one for Hawaiʻi - one for Maui and the Islands adjacent - one for Oʻahu, and one for Kauaʻi and the adjacent Islands. All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject to the King.
The prerogatives of the governors and their duties, shall be as follows: Each governor shall have the general direction of the several tax gatherers of his island, and shall support them in the execution of all their orders which he considers to have been properly given, but shall pursue a course according to law, and not according to his own private views. He also shall preside over all the judges of his island, and shall see their sentences executed as above. He shall also appoint the judges and give them their certificates of office.
All the governors, from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi shall be subject not only to the King, but also to the Premier.
The governor shall be the superior over his particular island or islands. He shall have charge of the munitions of war, under the direction of the King, however, and the Premier. He shall have charge of the forts, the soldiery, the arms and all the implements of war. He shall receive the government dues and shall deliver over the same to the Premier. All important decisions rest with him in times of emergency, unless the King or Premier be present. He shall have charge of all the King's business on the island, the taxation, new improvements to be extended, and plans for the increase of wealth, and all officers shall be subject to him. He shall also have power to decide all questions, and transact all island business which is not by law assigned to others.
When either of the governors shall decease, then all the chiefs shall assemble at such place as the King shall appoint, and shall nominate a successor of the deceased governor, and whosoever they shall nominate and be approved by the King, he shall be the new governor.
| # | Name | Picture | Birth | Death | Assumed Office | Left Office | Years in office | Notes | Monarch |
| Direct Rule by King Kamehameha I from Waikiki. | |||||||||
| 1 | Kūihelani | ? | ? | circa 1796? | circa 1815? | 9? | [1] | Kamehameha I | |
| 2 | Isaac Davis ʻAikake | circa 1758 | April, 1810 | ? | April, 1810? | 9? | Kamehameha I | ||
| 3 | Oliver Holmes | ? | ? | circa 1810? | ? | circa 1825 | Kamehameha I | ||
| Kamehameha II | |||||||||
| 4 | Lydia Namahana Piʻia | circa 1787 | September 12, 1829 | circa ? | circa 18.. | ? | Kamehameha II | ||
| Kamehameha III | |||||||||
| 5 | Boki Kamāʻuleʻule | circa 1780 | December, 1829 | 18.. | December, 1829 | ? | Kamehameha III | ||
| 6 | Kuini Liliha | circa 1780 | August 25, 1839 | December, 1829 | April 1, 1831 | 1 | acting; widow of Governor Boki | Kamehameha III | |
| 7 | John Adams Kiiapalaoku Kuakini | circa 1789 | December 9, 1844 | April 1, 1831 | circa 1833 | 2 | acting | Kamehameha III | |
| 8 | Elizabeth Kīnaʻu Kaʻahumanu II | circa 1805 | April 4, 1839 | circa 1833? | April 4, 1839? | 6? | Kamehameha III | ||
| 9 | Mataio Kekūanāoʻa | circa 1793 | November 4, 1868 | November 17, 1846 | February 18, 1864 | 18 | widower of Kīnaʻu | Kamehameha III | |
| Kamehameha IV | |||||||||
| Kamehameha V | |||||||||
| 10 | John Owen Dominis | March 10, 1832 | August 27, 1891 | February 18, 1864 | October 4, 1886 | 22 | first time | Kamehameha V | |
| Lunalilo | |||||||||
| Kalākaua | |||||||||
| 11 | Curtis Piʻehu ʻIaukea | December 13, 1855 | circa 1940 | October 4, 1886 | August 5, 1887 | 1 | Kalākaua | ||
| 12 | Antone Rosa | ? | September 9, 1898 | April 12, 1887 | July 7, 1887 | 2 months | acting | Kalākaua | |
| 13 | Archibald Scott Cleghorn | November 15, 1835 | November 1, 1910 | July 7, 1887 | July 26, 1887 | 19 days | acting; first time | Kalākaua | |
| 14 | John Owen Dominis | March 10, 1832 | August 27, 1891 | August 5, 1887 | August 23, 1888 | 1 | second time | Kalākaua | |
| Interregnum | |||||||||
| 15 | John Owen Dominis | March 10, 1832 | August 27, 1891 | March 2, 1891 | November 11, 1891 | eight months | third time | Liliuokalani | |
| 16 | Archibald Scott Cleghorn | November 15, 1835 | November 1, 1910 | November 11, 1891 | February 28, 1893 | 2 years | second time | Liliuokalani | |