:Tamisuke Watanuki

{{short description|Japanese politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Tamisuke Watanuki

|native_name = {{nobold|綿貫 民輔}}

|native_name_lang = ja

|image = Tamisuke Watanuki 2009.jpg

|caption = Watanuki in 2009

|office = Speaker of the House of Representatives

|monarch = Akihito

|deputy = Kōzō Watanabe

|term_start = 4 July 2000

|term_end = 10 October 2003

|predecessor = Sōichirō Itō

|successor = Yōhei Kōno

|office1 = Minister of Construction

|primeminister1 = Toshiki Kaifu

|term_start1 = 28 February 1990

|term_end1 = 29 December 1990

|predecessor1 = Shōzō Harada

|successor1 = Yūji Ōtsuka

|office2 = Director-General of the National Land Agency

|primeminister2 = Yasuhiro Nakasone

|term_start2 = 22 July 1986

|term_end2 = 6 November 1987

|predecessor2 = Heihachirō Yamazaki

|successor2 = Seisuke Okuno

|office3 = Director-General of the Hokkaido Development Agency and the Okinawa Development Agency

|primeminister3 = Yasuhiro Nakasone

|term_start3 = 22 July 1986

|term_end3 = 6 November 1987

|predecessor3 = Raishirō Koga

|successor3 = Shigeru Kasuya

|office4 = Member of the House of Representatives

|constituency4 = Toyama 2nd (1969–1996)
Toyama 3rd (1996–2009)

|term_start4 = 29 December 1969

|term_end4 = 21 July 2009

|predecessor4 = Multi-member district

|successor4 = Keiichiro Tachibana

|office5 = Member of the Toyama Prefectural Assembly

|constituency5 =

|term_start5 = 1959

|term_end5 = 1967

|predecessor5 =

|successor5 =

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1927|4|30|df=y}}

|birth_place = Nanto, Toyama, Japan

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = LDP (1969–2005; 2016–present)

|otherparty = PNP (2005–2013)
Independent (2013–2016)

|alma_mater = Keio University

}}

{{nihongo|Tamisuke Watanuki|綿貫 民輔|Watanuki Tamisuke|born 30 April 1927}} is a retired Japanese politician from Toyama Prefecture. He started his own export-import company at age 28.

He graduated from the Department of Economics at Keio University and ran for the Toyama Prefectural Assembly in 1959. He was elected to the Diet in 1969 as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.[http://www.watanuki.ne.jp/ Watanuki's official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304132440/http://www.watanuki.ne.jp/ |date=2010-03-04 }}

He served as Vice Minister of International Trade and Industry in 1975 in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Miki, and as Vice Minister of the Post Office under Prime Minister Fukuda, as well as some other cabinet positions through the 1980s. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives from July 2000 to November 2003.[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20020907c3.html An article in the Japan Times.]

He vigorously opposed Prime Minister Koizumi's plan to privatize the national post office and formed the People's New Party in 2005 to oppose the plan.[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20050408f3.html A report on the postal reform.] Although Koizumi's party handily won a strong majority in the elections on 11 September 2005, Watanuki crushed the challenger in his district.[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20070805pb.html A report on the 2005 Upper House Elections.] (Note: This report is entitled as UPPER House Election, which is wrong. This is a LOWER House Election.)