Mark J. Bennett

Mark J. Bennett is a Honolulu, Hawaii attorney and served as Attorney General of Hawaii from 2003 to 2010 in the two-term administration of Republican Governor Linda Lingle. He is the first attorney general appointed by a Republican governor since the governorship of William F. Quinn, the first elected governor of the state. Bennett was preceded in office by Earl I. Anzai and later succeeded to the office by David M. Louie.

In 1976, Bennett obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Union College in Schenectady. He attended Cornell University Cornell Law School in Ithaca where he sat on the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review. There, he received his Juris Doctor in 1979. After leaving law school, Bennett became clerk to Samuel Pailthorpe King who served as chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Completing his clerkship, Bennett became Assistant United States Attorney serving in Washington, D.C. from 1980 to 1982 and in Honolulu until 1990. In 1991, Bennett went into private legal practice as a partner at the firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP. At the same time, he worked pro-bono for the attorney general's office and taught at the William S. Richardson School of Law.^[1]

In rare fashion but as prescribed by law, from August 25 to September 3, 2004, Bennett served as Acting Governor of Hawaii upon the absence of Governor Linda Lingle and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona.^[2] The executives left the Hawaiian Islands to attend the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.

He is married to Honolulu attorney Patricia Tomi Ohara.^[2]

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