| Hannibal Tavares | |
| Office: | 2nd Mayor of Maui |
| Term Start: | October 1979 |
| Term End: | January 2, 1991 |
| Predecessor: | Elmer F. Cravalho |
| Successor: | Linda Lingle |
| Birth Date: | 24 September 1919 |
| Birth Place: | Makawao, Territory of Hawaii, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Wailuku, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Spouse: | Harriet Tavares |
Hannibal M. Tavares (September 24, 1919 – January 17, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 2nd Mayor of Maui from October 1979 until January 2, 1991.[1] He was the longest-serving mayor of Maui.[2]
Tavares was born in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii, on September 24, 1919.
In 1978, Maui Mayor Elmer Cravalho won reelection to a second term, but he suddenly left office only months later.[3] The vacancy left by Cravalho's resignation necessitated a special mayoral election.[3] In October 1979, Hannibal Tavares won the special mayoral election to complete the remainder of Cravalho's term.[3]
Tavares went on to win reelection and became Maui's longest-serving mayor to date.[3] He retired from office on January 2, 1991, and was succeeded by Republican Linda Lingle.[3]
Tavares's daughter, Charmaine Tavares, served as mayor of Maui from January 2, 2007, to January 2, 2011.[4] Both are the descendants of Portuguese immigrants who settled in Hawaii.[5]
He died at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii, on January 17, 1998, at the age of 78.[6] A resident of Kula, Maui, Tavares was survived by his wife, Harriet Y.T; three children, Charmaine Tavares, Sharon Klaschka, and Gary Tavares; three sisters, Helen Medeiros, Margaret Roberts and Sophie Stone; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.[6]