September 21, 1954: Mr. Abe is born in Tokyo, the son of Shintaro Abe, who served as Japan’s foreign minister, and grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, a former Prime Minister.

1977: Graduates from Seikei University in Tokyo with a degree in political science, after which he moves to the U.S. to study public policy at the University of Southern California for three semesters.

1979: Begins working at Kobe Steel as the firm was expanding its presence abroad.

1982: Leaves the company to pursue new positions at the Foreign Ministry and with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

1993: First elected as a LDP legislator representing the southwestern prefecture of Yamaguchi. Mr. Abe, already viewed as a conservative, is a member of the party's Mori faction that had once been headed by his father, who died in 1991.

2005: Mr. Abe is appointed chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, during which he leads negotiations to return Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea. The same year, he is elected head of the LDP

September 26, 2006: Mr. Abe becomes Japan’s Prime Minister for the first time, overseeing economic reforms while taking a hard line on North Korea

2007: Following electoral defeats that saw the LDP lose control of the legislature for the first time in 52 years, Mr. Abe resigns as Prime Minister, citing health reasons.
2012: After again being elected LDP president, Mr. Abe becomes Prime Minister for the second time.

2013: Seeking to boost growth, Mr. Abe launches his “Abenomics” policies featuring easy lending and structural reforms.

2014-2020: Re-elected LDP leader, he serves two additional terms as Prime Minister for a total of four

August 28, 2020:Announces he will step down as Prime Minister, again citing health reasons, after his ulcerative colitis flares up again. By that point, Mr. Abe had already become Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

2021: Despite leaving office, Mr. Abe shows he can still rile up Beijing with comments on Taiwan, the self-governing island China claims as its own territory and threatens to attack. In a speech, Mr. Abe warned that “military adventure would lead to economic suicide.”

July 8, 2022:Mr. Abe is shot and critically wounded during a campaign event in the city of Nara.