Profile
Shinzo Abe: Japan's Longest-Serving Prime Minister
Japanese prime minister and conservative leader, born in Tokyo on 21 September 1954
Shinzo Abe was born in Tokyo on 21 September 1954 into a prominent political family. His grandfather Nobusuke Kishi was a former prime minister and his father served as foreign minister.
He first became Prime Minister of Japan in 2006 but resigned after a year because of ill health. He returned in 2012 and served until 2020, a longer spell in office than any prime minister before him.
His policies, known as Abenomics, aimed to revive the economy. On 8 July 2022, he was shot and killed while giving a campaign speech in Nara, and was given a state funeral.
Career highlights
- 1954Born in Tokyo
- 1993Elected to parliament
- 2006Becomes prime minister: for the first time
- 2007Resigns: due to illness
- 2012Returns as prime minister
- 2013Tokyo wins the 2020 Olympics: bid supported by his government
- 2015Security laws: expand the role of Japan's Self-Defence Forces
- 2020Steps down: after a record term
- 2022Assassinated in Nara: during a campaign speech
Did you know?He was a keen golfer and often used rounds of golf for informal diplomacy with other world leaders.
