Tamisuke Watanuki

Tamisuke Watanuki (綿貫 民輔 Watanuki Tamisuke) (born 30 April 1927) is a Japanese politician from the Toyama Prefecture. He started his own export-import company at age 28.

He graduated from the Department of Economics at Keio University and ran for the Prefectural Assembly in 1959. He was elected to the Diet in 1969 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.[1]

He served as Vice Minister of International Trade and Industry in 1975 in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Miki, and as Vice Minister of the Post Office under Prime Minister Fukuda, as well as some other cabinet positions through the 1980s. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from July 2000 to November 2003.[2]

He vigorously opposed Prime Minister Koizumi's plan to privatize the national post office and formed the People's New Party in 2005 to oppose the plan.[3] Although Koizumi's party handily won a strong majority in the elections in 11 September 2005, Watanuki crushed the challenger in his district.[4]

References

House of Representatives of Japan
Preceded by
Soichiro Ito
Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan
2000-2003
Succeeded by
Yōhei Kōno
Political offices
Preceded by
Shozo Harada
Minister of Construction
1990
Succeeded by
Yuji Otsuka
Preceded by
Raisho Koga
Head of the Hokkaido Development Agency
1986-1987
Succeeded by
Shigeru Kasuya
Preceded by
Heihachiro Yamazaki
Head of the National Land Agency
1986-1987
Succeeded by
Seisuke Okuno
Preceded by
Raisho Koga
Head of the Okinawa Development Agency
1986-1987
Succeeded by
Shigeru Kasuya