Ichirō Hatoyama
Ichirō Hatoyama (鳩山 一郎, Hatoyama Ichirō, 1 January 1883 – 7 March 1959) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party and restored official relations with the Soviet Union.
Ichirō Hatoyama | |
|---|---|
鳩山 一郎 | |
Official portrait, 1954 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 10 December 1954 – 23 December 1956 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Deputy | Mamoru Shigemitsu |
| Preceded by | Shigeru Yoshida |
| Succeeded by | Tanzan Ishibashi |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 13 December 1931 – 3 March 1934 | |
| Prime Minister | Tsuyoshi Inukai Makoto Saito |
| Preceded by | Ryūzō Tanaka |
| Succeeded by | Genji Matsuda Makoto Saito (acting) |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 20 April 1927 – 2 July 1929 | |
| Prime Minister | Giichi Tanaka |
| Preceded by | Seiji Tsukamoto |
| Succeeded by | Fujiya Suzuki |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 2 October 1952 – 7 March 1959 | |
| In office 25 March 1915 – 7 May 1946 | |
| Constituency | Tokyo City |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1883 Tokyo City, Empire of Japan |
| Died | 7 March 1959 (aged 76) Bunkyō, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic (1955–1959) |
| Other political affiliations | Rikken Seiyūkai (1915–1940) Japan Liberal Party (1945–1948) Democratic Liberal Party (1948–1950) Liberal Party (1950–1953) Liberal Party–Hatoyama (1953) Liberal Party (1953) Japan Democratic Party (1954–1955) |
| Spouse | Kaoru |
| Children | Iichiro Yuriko Reiko Setsuko Keiko Nobuko |
| Signature | |
Hatoyama was born in Tokyo into a prominent and cosmopolitan family. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University he soon entered political life and was first elected to the Diet in 1915 as a member of the Seiyukai political party. He served as chief cabinet secretary under Giichi Tanaka and minister of education under Tsuyoshi Inukai and Makoto Saitō. He was one of the leading members of the Seiyukai prior to its dissolution in 1940. During the Pacific War he opposed the cabinet of Hideki Tōjō.
After the war Hatoyama founded and led the Liberal Party which became the largest party in the first post-war election. He was expected to become prime minister, but was purged by the American occupation authorities on the eve of taking office and handed over the leadership to Shigeru Yoshida. After being released from the purge in 1951 he was in conflict with Yoshida who declined to cede the leadership back. He finally became prime minister after ousting Yoshida in 1954.
In 1955, the Democratic Party led by Hatoyama and the Liberal Party formerly led by Yoshida merged to form the Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated Japanese politics ever since. Hatoyama pursued negotiations that led to the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, ending the formal state of war ongoing since the Soviet declaration of war on Japan in 1945, and restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries. Hatoyama resigned after this achievement, having long been of declining health.
A member of the Hatoyama family, he was the grandfather of Yukio Hatoyama, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2010.