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Zenkō Suzuki

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Zenko Suzuki
鈴木 善幸
Official portrait, 1980
Prime Minister of Japan
In office
17 July 1980 – 27 November 1982
MonarchShōwa
Preceded byMasayoshi Ōhira
Succeeded byYasuhiro Nakasone
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
In office
15 July 1980 – 25 November 1982
Secretary-GeneralYoshio Sakurauchi
Preceded byEiichi Nishimura (acting)
Succeeded byYasuhiro Nakasone
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
In office
24 December 1976 – 28 November 1977
Prime MinisterTakeo Fukuda
Preceded byBuichi Oishi
Succeeded byIchiro Nakagawa
Minister of Health and Welfare
In office
3 June 1965 – 3 December 1966
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byHiroshi Kanda
Succeeded byHideo Bo
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
18 July 1964 – 9 September 1964
Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda
Preceded byYasumi Kurogane
Succeeded byTomisaburo Hashimoto
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
In office
19 July 1960 – 8 December 1960
Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda
Preceded byHaruhiko Uetake
Succeeded byYoshiteru Kogane
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
25 April 1947 – 17 July 1980
Personal details
Born(1911-01-11)11 January 1911
Yamada, Iwate, Empire of Japan
Died19 July 2004(2004-07-19) (aged 93)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party (1955–2004)
Other political
affiliations
Japan Socialist Party (1947–1948)
Liberal Party (1948–1950)
Democratic Liberal Party (1950–1955)
ChildrenShun'ichi Suzuki
Chikako Suzuki
Alma materTokyo 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

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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

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with Dries van Agt (18 June 1981)

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

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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

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From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Zenko Suzuki". The Independent. London. 21 July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. ^ Dahlby, Tracy (23 August 1982). "Japan Heeds Criticism On Textbooks". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  5. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Condecorados: Orden El Sol del Peru" (PDF). Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Tomisaburo Hashimoto
Chair, General Affairs Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
1968–1971
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair, General Affairs Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
1972–1974
Succeeded by
Hirokichi Nadao
Preceded by
Tadao Kuraishi
Chair, General Affairs Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan
1979–1980
Succeeded by
Susumu Nikaido
Preceded by President of the Liberal Democratic Party
1980–1982
Succeeded by
Head of Kōchikai
1980–1986
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Haruhiko Uetake
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
1960
Succeeded by
Yoshiteru Kogane
Preceded by
Yasumi Kurogane
Chief Cabinet Secretary
1964
Succeeded by
Tomisaburo Hashimoto
Preceded by
Hiroshi Kanda
Minister of Health and Welfare
1965–1966
Succeeded by
Hideo Bō
Preceded by
Buichi Ōishi
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
1976–1977
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Japan
1980–1982
Succeeded by