Bunmei Ibuki

Bunmei Ibuki (伊吹 文明, Ibuki Bunmei, born 9 January 1938)[1] is a Japanese politician.

Bunmei Ibuki
伊吹 文明
Ibuki in 2013
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office 26 December 2012 – 21 November 2014
Monarch	Akihito
Preceded by	Takahiro Yokomichi
Succeeded by	Nobutaka Machimura
67th Minister of Finance
In office 2 August 2008 – 24 September 2008
Prime Minister	Yasuo Fukuda
Preceded by	Fukushiro Nukaga
Succeeded by	Shōichi Nakagawa
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In office 26 September 2006 – 26 September 2007
Prime Minister	Shinzō Abe
Preceded by	Kenji Kosaka
Succeeded by	Kisaburo Tokai
Member of the House of Representatives for Kyoto's 1st District
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 December 1983 - present
Personal details
Born	(1938-01-09) 9 January 1938 Kyoto, Empire of Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	Kyoto University

Bunmei Ibuki as Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (2006)

Ibuki with Enrique peǹa Nieto (2013)

He was born in Kyoto to a family of textile wholesalers who had operated the business since the Edo period. He graduated with a BA from Kyoto University's economics department in 1960. At Kyoto University he was a member of the tennis club. Upon graduation Ibuki became a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance. He was dispatched to the Japanese embassy in London in 1965, where he stayed for four years.[2]

Ibuki entered politics in 1983 at former Finance Minister Michio Watanabe's behest. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and has served in a variety of government positions, including Minister of Labour (1997~98) and National Public Safety Commission chairman (2000~01).

He was appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on 26 September 2006 as a part of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's first cabinet. In this position, he promoted the controversial revision of the Fundamental Law of Education. He was subsequently appointed as Secretary-General of the LDP in September 2007;[3] less than a year later, he was replaced in that position by Taro Aso and was instead appointed as Minister of Finance.[4] He is known for his knowledge of finance and tax and welfare policies.[5] He held the post of Finance Minister for less than two months, however, and was replaced by Shōichi Nakagawa in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008.[6]

On 26 December 2012, Bunmei Ibuki was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan. He presided over the day of his inauguration, the election of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.