Sunao Sonoda
| Sunao Sonoda | |
|---|---|
| 園田 直 | |
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Sonoda at Schiphol in July 1979
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| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 18 May 1981 – 30 November 1981 |
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| Prime Minister | Zenkō Suzuki |
| Preceded by | Masayoshi Ito |
| Succeeded by | Yoshio Sakurauchi |
| Minister of Health and Welfare | |
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In office 19 September 1980 – 18 May 1981 |
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| Prime Minister | Zenkō Suzuki |
| Preceded by | Kunikichi Saitō |
| Succeeded by | Tatsuo Murayama |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 7 December 1978 – 9 November 1979 |
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| Prime Minister | Masayoshi Ohira |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Saburo Okita |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 28 November 1977 – 7 December 1978 |
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| Prime Minister | Takeo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Iichirō Hatoyama |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
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In office 24 December 1976 – 28 November 1977 |
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| Prime Minister | Takeo Fukuda |
| Preceded by | Ichitaro Ide |
| Succeeded by | Shintaro Abe |
| Minister of Health and Welfare | |
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In office 25 November 1967 – 30 November 1968 |
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| Prime Minister | Eisaku Satō |
| Preceded by | Hideo Bō |
| Succeeded by | Noboru Saitō |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 December 1913 Kumamoto prefecture |
| Died | 2 April 1984 (aged 70) Tokyo |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
Sunao Sonoda (園田 直 Sonoda Sunao?, 11 December 1913 – 2 April 1984) was a leading Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician who served as foreign minister and health and welfare minister of Japan. He was called "flying foreign minister" due to his active diplomacy in increasing the role of Japan when he was in office. He was one of the significant figures in normalizing the relations between Japan and China.
Sonoda was born in Kumamoto prefecture on 11 December 1913.
Sonoda joined the Japanese army in 1938, and served both in China and in the Pacific area during World War II. More specifically, he was commander of a kamikaze squad during the war. In 1947, Sonoda was elected to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Diet, being a member of lower house for Kumamoto Prefecture. He was originally a member of the Democratic Party. Then he became a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) when the Democratic Party joined the Liberals.
In the 1950s, he was special envoy of the LDP. He served as parliamentary vice-foreign minister in 1955, and actively involved in normalizing the relations between Japan and the USSR. However, in 1960, he resigned from the LDP due to his objections to the ratification of the US-Japan mutual security treaty.
After rejoining the LDP, Sonoda also served as vice speaker of the lower house for two terms: from 20 December 1965 to 27 December 1966 and from 15 February 1967 to 25 November 1967. He served as minister of health and welfare from 1967 to 1968, which he held again from 1980 to 1981.
In addition, Sonoda was chief cabinet secretary in the cabinet led by Takeo Fukuda from 24 December 1976 to 28 November 1977.
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