Terauchi Masatake

Categories: 1852 births | 1919 deaths | Japanese prime ministers | Japanese Marshals

Terauchi Masatake (寺内 正毅 February 5,1852–November 3,1919) was a Japanese soldier and politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Japan from October 9,1916 to September 29,1918.

He was born in today's Yamaguchi prefecture. As a young soldier, he fought at Japanese civil wars against the shogunate government,and was commissioned in the fledging Japanese army. He lost his control of the right hand during the campaign against the rebels in 1877. After sent to France for military study, he experienced several important military posts and was appointed as Minister of the Army in 1901, contributing the victory of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

As the third Resident-General of Korea, he executed the anexation of Korea in 1910 to be the master of the country as the first Governor-General. He established the ascendancy of Japan over the country through hawkish military rules.

During the First World War, he was appointed as Prime Minister of Japan and declared to intervene in the Russian Revolution by sending Japanese troops into Siberia. But he resigned from his political post due to rice riots all over Japan in 1918.

Terauchi's son, Terauchi Hisaichi, was the commander of the Japanese Imperial Army's Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II.

External links

• Portraits of Prime Minister Terauchi