Horikiri Zenbee

Zembei Horikiri (堀切 善兵衛; 4 May 1882 – 25 November 1946) was a Japanese politician and economist who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1929 to 1930 and Ambassador to Italy from 1940 to 1942. He belonged to the Rikken Seiyukai party, On 16 December 1927, he was fined 50 yen.

In 1929, he was elected the 27th Speaker of the House of Representatives. On 11 December 1941, he stood alongside Benito Mussolini on the balcony of the Piazza Venezia in Rome as Italy's declaration of war on the United States was announced.

He worked to bolster Tripartite Pact cooperation along with Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima. In 1941, he received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class. In 1942, he resigned as Ambassador and served as Special Envoy in Europe for two years. He returned to Japan in 1944. On 24 February 1945, he was appointed Imperial Appointed Member of the House of Peers. In 1946, he was purged from public office, and died of a peptic ulcer at home in Iizaka on 25 November 1946, aged 64.

Honors

Japanese court ranks

30 October 1918 - Junior Fifth Rank 10 December 1921 - Senior Fifth Rank 16 April 1934 - Junior Fourth Rank 15 July 1942 - Senior Fourth Rank 30 November 1944 - Junior Third Rank Orders and decorations

Foreign decorations

Family

Wife: Misuzu Horikiri (daughter of Shutaro Yoshino) Eldest daughter: Ryoko Jūmonji (wife of Toshio Jūmonji) Brothers: Zenjiro Horikiri (Home Ministry official), Hisagoro Uchiike (House of Representatives member)