Kiichi Miyazawa

Kiichi Miyazawa (宮澤 喜一, Miyazawa Kiichi, 8 October 1919 – 28 June 2007[1]) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years.

Kiichi Miyazawa
宮澤 喜一
Minister of Finance
In office
30 July 1998  26 April 2001
Prime MinisterKeizo Obuchi
Yoshiro Mori
Preceded byHikaru Matsunaga
Succeeded byMasajuro Shiokawa
In office
22 July 1986  9 December 1988
Prime MinisterYasuhiro Nakasone
Noboru Takeshita
Preceded byNoboru Takeshita
Succeeded byNoboru Takeshita
(Acting)
Prime Minister of Japan
In office
5 November 1991  9 August 1993
MonarchAkihito
Preceded byToshiki Kaifu
Succeeded byMorihiro Hosokawa
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
In office
4 August 1993  9 August 1993
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byMasami Tanabe
Succeeded byEijiro Hata
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
In office
20 July 1993  9 August 1993
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byJunichiro Koizumi
Succeeded byTakenori Kanzaki
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
17 July 1980  27 November 1982
Prime MinisterZenko Suzuki
Preceded byMasayoshi Ito
Succeeded byMasaharu Gotōda
Director General of the Economic Planning Agency
In office
27 November 1977  7 December 1978
Prime MinisterTakeo Fukuda
Preceded byTadashi Kuranari
Succeeded byTokusaburo Kosaka
In office
3 December 1966  30 November 1968
Prime MinisterEisaku Sato
Preceded byEisaku Sato
(Acting)
Succeeded byWataro Kanno
In office
18 July 1962  18 July 1964
Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda
Preceded byHayato Ikeda
(Acting)
Succeeded byMamoru Takahashi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
9 December 1974  15 September 1976
Prime MinisterTakeo Miki
Preceded byToshio Kimura
Succeeded byZentaro Kosaka
Minister of International Trade and Industry
In office
14 January 1970  5 July 1971
Prime MinisterEisaku Sato
Preceded byMasayoshi Ohira
Succeeded byKakuei Tanaka
Member of the National Diet of Japan
House of Councillors (1953-1967)
House of Representatives (1967-2003)
In office
19 April 1953  9 November 2003
Personal details
Born(1919-10-08)8 October 1919
Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan
Died28 June 2007(2007-06-28) (aged 87)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materTokyo Imperial University
Signature

Early life and education

Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, on 8 October 1919. His father was a member of the Diet[2] and his grandfather a cabinet minister.[3] He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in law.[3]

Career

In 1942, he joined the ministry of finance, avoiding military service during World War II.[3]

In 1953, he was elected to the upper house of the Diet of Japan, where he stayed until moving to the lower house in 1967.[3] Miyazawa held a number of prominent public positions, including minister of international trade and industry (1970–1971), minister of foreign affairs (1974–1976), director general of the economic planning agency (1977–1978), and chief cabinet secretary (1984–1986). He became minister of finance under the government of Noboru Takeshita in July 1986. However, Miyazawa had to resign amid the Recruit scandal in 1988.[1]

Prime minister

with Bill Clinton (at the Garden of Iikura Guest House on 6 July 1993)

Miyazawa became Prime Minister on 5 November 1991 backed by his faction.[4] Miyazawa gained brief fame in the United States when President George H. W. Bush vomited in his lap and fainted during a state dinner on 8 January 1992.

His government passed a law allowing Japan to send its forces overseas for peacekeeping missions as well as negotiating a trade agreement with the United States. It also introduced financial reforms to address the growing economic malaise in Japan in the 1990s. Miyazawa resigned in 1993 after losing a vote of no confidence marking an end to 38 years of Liberal Democratic Party government.[1] The reason for the vote was a scandal involving Fumio Abe, a member of Miyazawa's faction.[4] The Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in June 1994.

Subsequent career

with Robert Rubin (on 26 April 1999)

Miyazawa later returned to frontbench politics when he was once again appointed finance minister from 1998 to 2001 in the governments of Keizō Obuchi and Yoshirō Mori. In 1998, Miyazawa replaced Hikaru Matsunaga as finance minister.[5][6] He served a total 14 terms in both upper and lower houses before retiring from politics in 2003.[3][7] The reason for his retirement was that then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi set an age limit of 73 for LDP political candidates.[8]

Personal life

Miyazawa married while studying in the United States. He and his wife, Yoko, had two children: Hiro, an architect, and Keiko, who became wife of diplomat Christopher J. Lafleur.[9][3] He published a book, entitled Secret Talks Between Tokyo and Washington, which was translated into English by Robert D. Eldridge in 2007. The book is about Miyazawa's views concerning the relationships between the US and Japan in terms of the political, economic, and security-related negotiations during the period of 1949 and 1954.[10]

Death

Miyazawa died in Tokyo at the age of 87 on 28 June 2007.[1][7]

References

  1. Martin, Douglas (29 June 2007). "Kiichi Miyazawa, Japan Premier in the 90s, Dies at 87". New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  2. Calder, Kent E. (January 1992). "Japan in 1991: Uncertain Quest for a Global Role". Asian Survey. 32 (1): 32–41. doi:10.1525/as.1992.32.1.00p0124h. JSTOR 2645196.
  3. McCurry, Justin (30 June 2007). "Obituary. Kiichi Miyazawa". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  4. Jameson, Sam (2 February 1992). "Miyazawa's Party Faction Chief Indicted". Los Angeles Times. Tokyo. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. "Matsunaga expects economy to recover under Miyazawa". Kyodo News. Tokyo. 30 July 1998. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  6. "Kiichi Miyazawa: plagued by bribery". BBC. 29 July 1998. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. "Former Japan PM Kiichi Miyazawa dead". UPI. Tokyo. 28 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  8. Nakamoto, Michiyo (28 June 2007). "Former Japanese PM Miyazawa dies". Financial Times. Tokyo. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/28/world/man-in-the-news-kiichi-miyazawa-self-assured-leader-of-japan.html
  10. Secret Talks Between Tokyo and Washington. Google Books. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
House of Councillors
Party political offices
Preceded by
Toshiki Kaifu
President of the Liberal Democratic Party
19911993
Succeeded by
Yohei Kono
Preceded by
Zenkō Suzuki
Head of Kōchikai
19861998
Succeeded by
Kōichi Katō
Political offices
Preceded by
Hayato Ikeda
Minister of State
Head of the Economic Planning Agency

19621964
Succeeded by
Mamoru Takahashi
Preceded by
Eisaku Satō
Minister of State
Head of the Economic Planning Agency

19661968
Succeeded by
Wataro Kanno
Preceded by
Masayoshi Ōhira
Minister of International Trade and Industry
19701971
Succeeded by
Kakuei Tanaka
Preceded by
Toshio Kimura
Minister for Foreign Affairs
19741976
Succeeded by
Zentaro Kosaka
Preceded by
Tadashi Kuranari
Minister of State
Head of the Economic Planning Agency

19771978
Succeeded by
Tokusaburo Kosaka
Preceded by
Masayoshi Ito
Chief Cabinet Secretary
19801982
Succeeded by
Masaharu Gotōda
Preceded by
Noboru Takeshita
Minister of Finance
19861988
Succeeded by
Noboru Takeshita
Preceded by
Shin Kanemaru
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan
19871988
Succeeded by
Michio Watanabe
Preceded by
Toshiki Kaifu
Prime Minister of Japan
19911993
Succeeded by
Morihiro Hosokawa
Preceded by
Junichiro Koizumi
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
1993
Succeeded by
Takenori Kanzaki
Preceded by
Masami Tanabu
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
1993
Succeeded by
Eijirō Hata
Preceded by
Hikaru Matsunaga
Minister of Finance
19982001
Succeeded by
Masajuro Shiokawa
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Helmut Kohl
Chairperson of the G7
1993
Succeeded by
Silvio Berlusconi
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Takenori Katō
Youngest member of the House of Councillors of Japan
19531956
Succeeded by
Tadashi Ōya
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.