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Diplomat, statesman. Born in Aichi, the son of a samurai of the Nagoya Clan. He graduated first on the list from the Law Department of Tokyo University, and entered Mitsubishi Corporation. In 1886 he married a daughter of Yataro Iwasaki. Later, he entered government service and held the posts of director of the Banking Bureau in the Finance Ministry, and minister to Great Britain. In 1900, he became the foreign minister in the fourth Ito cabinet. In 1902 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives. Thereafter, he successively held posts as president of the Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun, foreign minister for the first Saionji cabinet, ambassador to the United Kingdom, and foreign minister in the third Katsura and second Okuma cabinets. In 1915 he was selected as a member of the House of Peers by Imperial command. He became president of the Kenseikai (Constitutional Association) in the following year. In 1924 he assumed the office of prime minister for the so-called "Goken Sanpa Naikaku" (Cabinet based on three pro-Constitution factions). In the following year, he had the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law and Peace Preservation Law enacted and concluded the Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention.
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Kato, Takaaki 
