Saionji Kinmochi

Prince Saionji Kinmochi was a Japanese statesman and diplomat who twice served as Prime Minister of Japan, in 1906–1908 and 1911–1912. He was the last surviving member of the genrō, the small group of unofficial elder statesmen who dominated Japanese politics during the Meiji and Taishō periods. As a member of the Kyoto court nobility (kuge), Saionji forged a close relationship with the imperial house from a young age and participated in the Boshin War that overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate. He spent nearly a decade studying in France, where he became a heartfelt Francophile deeply influenced by European liberalism.