SHINZO ABE

The Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party

Shinzo Abe was born into a distinguished political family. His father was Shintaro Abe, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and his grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Following graduation from the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Law at Seikei University in 1977, Mr. Abe studied politics at the Universtity of Southern California. On his return to Japan, Mr. Abe began work at the Kobe Steel Ltd., and continued there until 1982. He then served as executive assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, private secretary to the chairperson of the LDP General Council, and then as private secretary to the LDP secretary-general. After his father's death in 1991, Mr. Abe established a network of Shinzo Abe supporters' office. In 1993, Mr. Abe received the highest vote count in the Yamaguchi 1st District in his fast run for the House of Representatives. He was appointed to the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, and also served as director of the LDP Social Affairs Division, where he focused on the pension and the social security systems. He has served as deputy chief cabinet secretary from 2000 to 2003 Sptember in the Mori and Koizumi Cabinets. Then he has appointed to the Secretary General of LDP. He was recently re-elected in the general election for a forth term under the 2003 general election.

Mr. Abe has been active as chief negotiator for the Japanese government on behalf of the families of Japanese abductees who have placed their trust in his efforts.

From :

http://tokyo.s-abe.or.jp/profile_in_english.html