Kenji Hirata

Kenji Hirata (Japanese平 田 健 二, Hirata, Kenji; born January 4, 1944 in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture) is a former Japanese politician of the Democratic Party ( Kawabata group) and was from 2011 to 2013 President of the Sangiin, the upper house of the national parliament.

Hirata graduated in 1961, the Asahi Kasei Gakuin Kōka (旭 化成 工 科学院) the " technical Academy of Asahi Kasei " and then worked for the company. He later took over leadership positions in the textile union censuses domei, a member of the DSP -related Trade Union Confederation domei (since 1989 part of Rengo ): From 1973, he headed the prefecture Association Ibaraki, from 1984, the Prefecture Association Mie and 1989 the Prefecture Association Gifu. From 1989 he took over management positions with Rengo Gifu.

When Sangiin - 1995 election, which was held during the Grand Coalition between SPJ and LDP, Hirata ran for the New Progressive Party (NRP ) in Gifu Prefecture, which elected two MPs for the first time in the councils house. He could surpass the socialist incumbent Shoya Iwasaki and was selected with the second highest share of votes behind former Labor Minister Akira Ōno (LDP ). 2001 and 2007 respectively, he was also confirmed with the second highest share of the vote behind conservative candidates in office.

After the dissolution of the NFP was a member of the Shinto Hirata YUAI ( " New Party Fraternity" ) of Kansei Nakano and thus in 1998 the Democratic Party. There he was, among others, in 2001 Deputy Secretary-General and from 2003 Chairman of the Association of Gifu Prefecture. After the seizure of power in 2009 was Hirata Chairman of the Committee for Parliamentary Affairs, 2010 Secretary General of the Democratic Sangiin Group.

Hirata in 2011 was elected to succeed the late Takeo Nishioka Sangiinpräsidenten. Before Sangiin - election in 2013 he declared in March 2013 his retirement from politics and did not run after three terms as a Member of Parliament for re-election.