Zenkō Suzuki
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
Zenko Suzuki | |
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鈴木 善幸 | |
 Official portrait, 1980 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 17 July 1980 – 27 November 1982 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Preceded by | Masayoshi Itō |
| Succeeded by | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| President of the Liberal Democratic Party | |
| In office 15 July 1980 – 25 November 1982 | |
| Secretary-General | Yoshio Sakurauchi |
| Preceded by | Eiichi Nishimura (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry | |
| In office 24 December 1976 – 28 November 1977 | |
| Prime Minister | Takeo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Buichi Oishi |
| Succeeded by | Ichiro Nakagawa |
| Minister of Health and Welfare | |
| In office 3 June 1965 – 3 December 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Eisaku Satō |
| Preceded by | Hiroshi Kanda |
| Succeeded by | Hideo Bo |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 18 July 1964 – 9 September 1964 | |
| Prime Minister | Hayato Ikeda |
| Preceded by | Yasumi Kurogane |
| Succeeded by | Tomisaburo Hashimoto |
| Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | |
| In office 19 July 1960 – 8 December 1960 | |
| Prime Minister | Hayato Ikeda |
| Preceded by | Haruhiko Uetake |
| Succeeded by | Yoshiteru Kogane |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 25 April 1947 – 17 July 1980 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 January 1911 Yamada, Iwate, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 19 July 2004 (aged 93) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party (1955–2004) |
| Other political affiliations | Japan Socialist Party (1947–1948) Liberal Party (1948–1950) Democratic Liberal Party (1950–1955) |
| Children | Shun'ichi Suzuki Chikako Suzuki |
| Alma mater | Tokyo University of Fisheries |
| Signature |  |
Zenkō Suzuki (鈴木 善幸, Suzuki Zenkō, 11 January 1911 – 19 July 2004) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1980 to 1982.
Born in Iwate Prefecture, Suzuki graduated from the Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935 and was elected to the Diet in 1947 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party, then shifted rightward and joined the Liberal Democratic Party. He briefly served as posts and telecommunications minister and cabinet secretary under Hayato Ikeda, as health and welfare minister under Eisaku Satō, and as agriculture, forests, and fisheries minister under Takeo Fukuda. After the sudden death of prime minister Masayoshi Ōhira in 1980, Suzuki assumed leadership of his faction, and he succeeded him as LDP president and prime minister until 1982.
Early life and education
[edit]Suzuki was born on 11 January 1911, Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, the eldest son of a fishery owner.[1][2] He graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935.[3]
Career
[edit]_begroet_premier_Suzuki_op_het_Binnenhof,_Bestanddeelnr_931-5512.jpg)
First elected as a member of the JSP in the 1947 election, Suzuki eventually became disillusioned with the Socialists and his politics shifted rightward. He joined the Liberal Party in 1948, and helped merge it with another right of center party to establish the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1955. He was Minister of Health from 1965 to 1966, and Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries from 1976 to 1977.
Suzuki was appointed prime minister following the sudden death of Masayoshi Ōhira, who died of a heart attack during a general election campaign. The sympathy vote generated by Ohira's death resulted in a landslide for the ruling LDP, handing Suzuki the largest parliamentary majority any prime minister had enjoyed for many years. A major scandal erupted in 1982 when South Korea and China objected to the rewording of Japanese school textbooks to minimize the role of Japanese aggression in World War II. Suzuki vowed the changes would not be made to avoid offending Japan's economically important neighbors. This drew the ire of right-wing members of the LDP who believed it the issue to be an internal one and severely weakened his standing within the party.[4] He chose not to run for reelection to the presidency of the LDP in 1982, and was succeeded by Yasuhiro Nakasone.[5]
He served during a period of instability; cabinet members frequently changed, and parties were often split by fractional politics. His diplomatic skills allowed him to chair his party's executive council ten times, winning him support in his early career. Despite his foreign policy gaffes as prime minister, he later helped further foreign relations with the United States, during a 1988 summit with Ronald Reagan.[5]
Personal life and death
[edit]Suzuki's daughter, Chikako Aso, is the wife of Taro Aso, who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009.[6] His son Shun'ichi Suzuki serves in the Diet.
Suzuki died at the International Medical Center of Japan in Tokyo of pneumonia on 19 July 2004 at the age of 93.[7] His wife died in 2015.
Honours
[edit]From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (July 2004; posthumous)
References
[edit]- ^ Ueda, Masaaki (2002). Kōdansha Nihon jinmei daijiten. Kōdansha. Shuppan Kenkyūjo, 講談社. 出版研究所. Kōdansha. 鈴木善幸. ISBN 4-06-210800-3. OCLC 50718841.
- ^ "鈴木善幸 行政改革に道筋をつけた元首相、死去". Imidas. Shueisha. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ "Zenko Suzuki". The Independent. London. 21 July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ Dahlby, Tracy (23 August 1982). "Japan Heeds Criticism On Textbooks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Zenko Suzuki, 93, Ex-Premier of Japan". The New York Times. 21 July 2004. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ Albrecht Rothacher (1993). The Japanese Power Elite. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 50. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-22993-2. ISBN 978-1-349-22995-6.
- ^ "Former Prime Minister Suzuki dies at Tokyo hospital, aged 93". The Japan Times. Tokyo. 20 July 2004. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| State of Japan (1947–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1911 births
- 2004 deaths
- 20th-century prime ministers of Japan
- Liberal Party (Japan, 1945) politicians
- Democratic Liberal Party (Japan) politicians
- Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
- Presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
- Liberal Democratic Party prime ministers of Japan
- Politicians from Iwate Prefecture