Poka Laenui is a lawyer and advocate for the health, welfare, and culture of Hawaiians.
WAI'ANAE, HI, May 21, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Poka Laenui with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Laenui celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected based on current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all considered during the selection process.
A lawyer and advocate for the health, welfare, and culture of Hawaiians, Mr. Laenui initially pursued an education at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1968. He subsequently graduated from the University of Hawai'i, Manoa with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1976. Mr. Laenui was admitted to practice law by the Hawai'i bar in 1976 and has represented cases before all the Hawaii State Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Tax Court.
Since 1976, Mr. Laenui excelled as an attorney-at-law in private practice. He accepted the position of the president of the Hawaiian National Broadcast Corporation in 1993 and has found further success as the chairman of the Native Hawaiian Convention since 2002. Mr. Laenui later worked as the executive director of the Wai'anae Coast Community Mental Health Center in Wai'anae, Hawai'i from 1997 to 2014.
Mr. Laenui has completed extensive work for Hawaiian sovereignty, first raising the challenge to U.S. jurisdiction in 1977, sparking the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement. He was appointed by Governor John Waihe'e as a Commissioner to the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission in 1993 and was elected to the Native Hawaiian Convention where he now serves as its Chair. He was an active participant in the early years of the United Nation's development of Indigenous Peoples' rights representing the World Council and the Pacific Asia Council of Indigenous Peoples. He also served as an expert to the International Labor Organization's review of its Indigenous Peoples' rights convention as well as the UN's Seminar on the Effects of Racism and Racial Discrimination on the Social and Economic Relations Between Indigenous Peoples and States in 1989. He addressed the UN's General Assembly in 1993 where he was recognized as one of 5 pioneers in the field of Indigenous Peoples' Rights. He has been a television and radio personality broadcasting weekly call-in shows from 1991 to 2018 on various public and commercial Hawaii radio and television stations.
He has written and lectured on a wide variety of topics including cultures, health, human rights, decolonization, Hawaiian history, peace, international law and affairs, behavioral health care, community organizing, and domestic U.S. law. Among his many accolades for his legal and advocacy efforts, Mr. Laenui is the recipient of a 2012 Native Hawaiian Health Award at the Native Hawaiian Convention and was recognized as the 2006 Executive of the Year by the Mental Health Association of America in Hawai'i. In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Pōkā Laenui is recognized as a Distinguished Humanitarian in 2019 and as an Industry Leader, given a Who's Who of Preeminent Innovators and Achievers.
He continues to maintain his one-person law office from his back-yard and can just as often be found working his farm.
He is featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor. Mr. Laenui has received previous Marquis' WHO'S WHO recognitions in the World, in American Law, in emerging leaders of America and in the West.
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