Shinzo Abe, Political Leader
Born: 21 September 1954
Birthplace: Nagato, Honshu, Japan
Best Known As: Prime Minister of Japan, 2006-present
Shinzo Abe became Japan's prime minister on 26 September 2006. Abe (pronounced "ah-bay") was something of a born politician: his father and paternal grandfather were both high-ranking members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and his mother's father was Nobusuki Kishi, Japan's prime minister from 1957 to 1960. Abe studied politics at Seikei University and the University of Southern California and went to work for Kobe Steel in 1979. Abe soon entered government work, getting a leg up from his dad, Shintaro Abe. In 1993 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first of five times and began moving up the party ranks. He served as the deputy chief cabinet secretary for prime ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi from 2000 to 2003, and made a name for himself when he stood up to North Korea's Kim Jong Il over the North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals. In 2003 he became the secretary general for the LDP, the ruling party in Japan for most of the last 50 years. Abe was named Chief Cabinet Secretary for Koizumi In October of 2005, and the next September he succeeded Koizumi as prime minister. Abe advocates a strong national defense and a foreign policy that strengthens ties to the United States as a counterweight to future threats from China and North Korea.
No comments:
Post a Comment