Shintaro Abe (安倍 晋太郎, Abe Shintarō, April 29, 1924 – May 15, 1991)[1] was a Japanese politician from Yamaguchi Prefecture. He was a leading member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He served as foreign minister from 1982 to 1986.[2] He was the father of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Shintaro Abe
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安倍 晋太郎
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Abe in 1982
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office November 27, 1982 – July 22, 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| Preceded by | Yoshio Sakurauchi |
| Succeeded by | Tadashi Kuranari |
| Minister of International Trade and Industry | |
| In office November 30, 1981 – November 27, 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Zenkō Suzuki |
| Preceded by | Rokusuke Tanaka |
| Succeeded by | Sadanori Yamanaka |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office November 28, 1977 – December 7, 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Takeo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Sunao Sonoda |
| Succeeded by | Rokusuke Tanaka |
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry | |
| In office December 9, 1974 – September 15, 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Takeo Miki |
| Preceded by | Tadao Kuraishi |
| Succeeded by | Buichi Ōishi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-04-29)April 29, 1924 Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture Empire of Japan |
| Died | May 15, 1991(1991-05-15) (aged 67) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Yoko Kishi |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) | Kan Abe Shizuko Abe |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
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Abe was born on April 29, 1924, in Tokyo, the only son of politician and member of Parliament Kan Abe. He was raised in his father's home prefecture of Yamaguchi from soon after his birth. His mother was an army general's daughter.[3]
Abe married Yoko Kishi, daughter of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, in 1951.[2] His second son, Shinzo Abe, served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020.[4] His third son, Nobuo Kishi, was adopted by his brother-in-law shortly after birth, won a House of Representatives seat in 2012 and was appointed Minister of Defense in 2020.
After graduating from high school in 1944 during World War II, Abe entered a naval aviation school and volunteered to become a kamikaze pilot. The war ended before he could undergo the required training.[5] In 1949 he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, Shintaro Abe began his career as a political reporter for Mainichi Shimbun.[6] He became a politician in 1957, when he started working as a legislative aide of his father in-law, the then-prime minister Nobusuke Kishi.[6] He won his father's seat in the House of Representatives in 1958.[3]
He led a major LDP faction, the conservative Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, whose reins he took from former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda in July 1986, and held a variety of ministerial and party posts, the former of which included Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Minister of International Trade and Industry.[3] Abe was named as Minister of International Trade and Industry in the cabinet of the then prime minister Zenkō Suzuki on November 30, 1981.[7] During this period, he was seen as a young leader groomed for the future prime ministry.[7] In November 1982, he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of the then-prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, replacing Yoshio Sakurauchi. His term lasted until 1986.[2]
Abe was a top contender to succeed Nakasone as prime minister in 1987, until he stepped aside for Noboru Takeshita, head of a powerful rival faction. Then, he was given the post of secretary general of the party in 1987.[2] In 1988, his chances of becoming prime minister some time in the near future were again thwarted when his name became associated with the Recruit-Cosmos insider-trading stock scandal, which brought down Takeshita and forced Abe to resign as the party's secretary general in December 1988.[2]
Shintaro Abe was hospitalized in January 1991.[3] He died at Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital on May 15, 1991, aged 67. The cause of death was heart failure.[8][6][9]
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tadao Kuraishi |
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 1974–1976 |
Succeeded by Buichi Ōishi |
| Preceded by | Chief Cabinet Secretary 1977–1978 |
Succeeded by Rokusuke Tanaka |
| Preceded by Rokusuke Tanaka |
Minister of International Trade and Industry 1981–1982 |
Succeeded by Sadanori Yamanaka |
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign AffairsofJapan 1982–1986 |
Succeeded by |
| House of Representatives (Japan) | ||
| Preceded by Soichi Kamoda |
Chair, Financial Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives of Japan 1973–1974 |
Succeeded by Senichiro Uemura |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee, Liberal Democratic Party 1976–1977 |
Succeeded by Asao Mihara |
| Preceded by Toshio Komoto |
Chairman of the Policy Research Committee, Liberal Democratic Party 1979–1981 |
Succeeded by Rokusuke Tanaka |
| Preceded by | Chairman of General Affairs Committee, Liberal Democratic Party 1986–1987 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party 1987–1989 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai 1986–1991 |
Succeeded by |