Takeshi Watanabe

Viscount was a Japanese bureaucrat and the first President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He was in office from 24 November 1966 to 24 November 1972.

Career Upon graduation, he started working for the Ministry of Finance, where one of his colleagues was Takeo Fukuda, who later became prime minister. Together with Hayato Ikeda, Minister of Finance, and Kiichi Miyazawa, his secretary—both of whom later became prime ministers—he played a central role in negotiating with the Allied Occupation Force about the economic policies and finances of occupied Japan.

After resigning from ADB, Watanabe took on a number of roles including advisor to the Bank of Tokyo, President of the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCRA), and honorary chairman of Japan Silver Volunteers Inc. He was also the first Japanese chairman of the Trilateral Commission. His book of memoirs of ADB "Towards a New Asia" was published in 1973.