Takeo Fukuda

Politician. Born on January 14, 1905 in Kaneko-cho, Gunma-gun, Gunma Prefecture (now Takasaki City). Graduated from the Faculty of Law at Tokyo Imperial University and joined the Ministry of Finance. Became Director-General of the Budget Bureau in 1947, but retired the following year in 1948 due to his involvement in the Showa Denko Scandal. He later entered politics and was elected in the 1952 general election, and was elected every year thereafter. He worked with Kishi Nobusuke, and in 1959 he served as Secretary-General of the LDP and Minister of Agriculture under the Kishi Cabinet. He made a major contribution to the birth of the Sato Eisaku administration, and as a result of his work he became Minister of Finance in 1965 under the Sato Cabinet, and also served as Secretary-General of the LDP and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was seen as Sato's successor, but lost to Tanaka Kakuei in the 1972 LDP presidential election. Apart from joining the Cabinet as Minister of Finance in 1973, he was consistently at the center of Tanaka's criticism. He became Prime Minister in 1976 and achieved some success in diplomacy, but his failure to revive the economy and his hawkish stance drew backlash, and he lost to Masayoshi Ohira in the 1978 presidential primary election and resigned. He followed in the footsteps of Kishi and was a member of the pro-Taiwan group, leaning to the right among mainstream conservatives. He also called himself "Fukuda of the economy" and had many supporters in the mainstream business world.

[Satoru Ito]

He retired from politics in 1990. His eldest son, Yasuo, became his successor and a member of the House of Representatives, and served as Prime Minister from September 2007 to September 2008.

[Editorial Department]

"Fukuda Takeo and the Japanese Economy" by Furusawa Kenichi (1983, Kodansha) " "Kiyomiya Ryuu, "The Fukuda Administration: 714 Days" (1984, Administrative Problems Research Institute Publishing Bureau)" "Fukuda Takeo, "Looking Back at Ninety Years" (1995, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政治家。明治38年1月14日群馬県群馬郡金古(かねこ)町（現高崎市）生まれ。東京帝国大学法学部から大蔵省に入る。1947年（昭和22）主計局長となるが翌1948年昭電疑獄に連座して退官。のち政界入りして1952年総選挙で当選、以後連続当選。岸信介(のぶすけ)と行動をともにし1959年岸内閣のもとで自民党幹事長、農相を歴任。佐藤栄作政権誕生に大きく貢献しその功によって佐藤内閣で1965年蔵相になったほか党幹事長、外相を歴任、佐藤の後継者と目されたが、1972年総裁戦で田中角栄に敗れた。その後1973年蔵相として入閣した以外は一貫して田中批判勢力の中心。1976年首相就任、外交面では一定の成果をあげたが、景気回復の失敗とそのタカ派的姿勢が反発を招き、1978年総裁予備選で大平正芳(まさよし)に敗れ退陣。保守本流のなかでは岸の流れを継いで右寄りに位置し親台湾グループの一人。また「経済の福田」を自認し財界主流に多くの支持者をもった。

［伊藤　悟］

　1990年（平成2）に政界を引退。長男の康夫(やすお)が後継者として衆議院議員となり、2007年（平成19）9月から2008年9月まで首相を務めた。

［編集部］

『古沢健一著『福田赳夫と日本経済』（1983・講談社）』▽『清宮竜著『福田政権・714日』（1984・行政問題研究所出版局）』▽『福田赳夫著『回顧九十年』（1995・岩波書店）』

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