Saionji
MARQUIS KINMOCHI, a Japanese statesman and a member of the Japanese peace delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He was born in Kyoto in 1849, and in his youth took part in the political activities following the revolution of 1868. From 1869 to 1880 he studied in Paris. On his return to Japan he joined Prince Ito and other advocates of liberal reform ideas. He was a member of the commission which studied foreign governments, in 1882. He served as Japanese Minister at Vienna and at Berlin, and held various important posts in the Japanese Government, becoming, in 1903, leader of the Constitutional Party. From 1906 to 1908 he was Prime Minister and again in 1911-12.