About Kijūrō Shidehara
Baron Kijūrō Shidehara (幣原 喜重郎, Shidehara Kijūrō; 13 September 1872 – 10 March 1951), was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946. He was a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. Born to a wealthy Osaka family, Shidehara studied law at Tokyo Imperial University and graduated in 1895. He then joined the foreign service and held postings in Korea, Europe, and the United States, serving as ambassador to the latter from 1919 to 1922. Shidehara served as foreign minister from 1924 to 1927 and from 1929 to 1931, and favored a non-interventionist policy in China. As prime minister after World War II, Shidehara set into motion many of the occupation reforms. After his tenure, he served as the president of the Progressive Party and as an adviser to Shigeru Yoshida. He was elected to the National Diet in 1947 and joined the Liberal Party, and from 1949 to 1951 served as speaker of the House of Representatives. During his diplomatic career, Shidehara was known for his excellent command of the English language. However, while he was ambassador, the United States enacted discriminatory immigration laws against Japanese, which created much ill will in Japan. In 1924, Shidehara became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Katō Takaaki and continued in this post under Prime Ministers Wakatsuki Reijirō and Osachi Hamaguchi.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.