Shigeru Yoshida
| Shigeru Yoshida | |
|---|---|
| 吉田 茂 | |
 |
|
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
|
In office 15 October 1948 – 10 December 1954 |
|
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Governor |
Douglas MacArthur Matthew Ridgway |
| Preceded by | Hitoshi Ashida |
| Succeeded by | Ichirō Hatoyama |
|
In office 22 May 1946 – 24 May 1947 |
|
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Governor | Douglas MacArthur |
| Preceded by | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Succeeded by | Tetsu Katayama |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
22 September 1878 Yokosuka, Japan |
| Died | 20 October 1967 (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party |
Japan Liberal Party (1945–1948) Democratic Liberal Party (1948–1950) Liberal Party (1950–1955) Liberal Democratic Party (1955–1967) |
| Spouse(s) | Yukiko Yoshida |
| Children | 2 (including Ken'ichi) |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
| Signature |  |
Shigeru Yoshida (吉田 茂 Yoshida Shigeru?), KCVO (22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954, becoming one of the longest serving PMs in Japanese history.
Yoshida was born in Yokosuka near Tokyo and educated at Tokyo Imperial University. He entered Japan's diplomatic corps in 1906 just after Japan's victory against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. He was Japan's ambassador to Italy and the United Kingdom during the 1930s and finally retired from his last appointment as ambassador to London in 1938. Throughout the 1930s and before the war ended in the 1940s, Yoshida continued to participate in Japan's imperialist movement; in early 1945 he was the Munitions Minister, and attempted to construct underground armament-manufacturing facilities to protect them from aerial bombing. After several months' imprisonment in 1945, he became one of Japan's key postwar leaders.
Yoshida became the 45th prime minister on 22 May 1946. His pro-American and pro-British ideals and his knowledge of Western societies, gained through education and political work abroad are what made him the perfect candidate in the eyes of the postwar Allied occupation.
After being replaced with Tetsu Katayama on 24 May 1947, he returned to the post as the 48th prime minister on 15 October 1948.
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