Taro Aso

was the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan serving from September 2008 to September 2009, and was defeated in the August 2009 election.

He has served in the House of Representatives since 1979. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007, <!--under Prime Ministers Shinzō Abe and Junichiro Koizumi,: moved to the info box in proper order-->and was Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2008 to 2009. His successor, Sadakazu Tanigaki, was chosen 28 September 2009.

Early life

Aso, a Roman Catholic, was born in Iizuka, Fukuoka on September 20, 1940., Forbes, 2006-08-20. His father, Takakichi Aso, was the chairman of the Aso Cement Company and a close associate of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka; his mother Kazuko Aso was Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's daughter. Taro is also a great-great-grandson of Ōkubo Toshimichi, and his current wife, Chikako is the third daughter of Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki. His younger sister, Nobuko, is the wife of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a first cousin of the Emperor Akihito.

Aso first graduated from the Faculty of Politics and Economics at Gakushuin University. He then studied in the United States at Stanford University, but was cut off by his family, who feared he was becoming too Americanized. After making his way...
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