Zenkō Suzuki

He was the last prime minister to have been born in the Meiji era.

Zenko Suzuki
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
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	(1911-01-11)11 January 1911 Yamada, Iwate, Empire of Japan
Died	19 July 2004(2004-07-19) (aged 93) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party (1955–2004)
Other political affiliations	Liberal Party (1948–1950) Democratic Liberal Party (1950–1955)
Children	Shun'ichi Suzuki Chikako Suzuki
Alma mater	Tokyo University of Fisheries
Signature

Suzuki was born on 11 January 1911, Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, the eldest son of a fishery owner. He graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935.

 

Suzuki 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. He chose not to run for reelection to the presidency of the LDP in 1982, and was succeeded by Yasuhiro Nakasone.

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.

Suzuki's daughter, Chikako Aso, is the wife of Taro Aso, who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. 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. His wife died in 2015.

From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (July 2004; posthumous)