The six former senior members of AUM Shinrikyo executed Friday along with cult founder Shoko Asahara were mostly highly educated and played prominent roles in the group's hierarchy.

During their trials, some of them expressed continued devotion to Asahara, while others cooperated with investigators or communicated with others including a researcher to shed light on the crimes and reveal what they knew.

With the cult adopting a state-like structure, the members assumed various roles under its "agencies" and "ministries."

(AUM Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, right, and his follower Kiyohide Hayakawa)

Among the six, Kiyohide Hayakawa assumed the post of "construction minister," after having worked for a construction company. He was in charge of building facilities known as "satyam," where followers underwent spiritual training.

Hayakawa, a 68-year-old native of Hyogo Prefecture, finished postgraduate studies at Osaka Prefecture University.

Yoshihiro Inoue, dubbed a "genius in training," was born in Kyoto Prefecture and joined AUM when he was a second-year student in high school.

As the head of the "intelligence ministry," Inoue engaged in unlawful activities and acted as the general coordinator of the group that carried out the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in March 1995.

After his arrest, Inoue, 48, was cooperative during investigations.

Tomomitsu Niimi, 54, was one of the longest-serving cult members and was involved in most of its major crimes. A native of Aichi Prefecture, he graduated from Aichi Gakuin University.

Even after he was arrested, Niimi showed his devotion to Asahara, and appeared in court wearing a "samue," or a work clothing outfit worn by monks. Asahara was often seeing wearing such an outfit.

Masami Tsuchiya, born in Tokyo, was a researcher in physical chemistry at a graduate school of University of Tsukuba.

The 53-year-old had succeeded in developing sarin, the nerve agent used in the Tokyo subway attack, at a special experiment facility.

During his first trial, Tsuchiya expressed his faith in Asahara but just before his death sentence was finalized, he expressed his regret in notes saying that the attack would not have happened if not for him.

Tomomasa Nakagawa, 55, joined the cult as a medical student at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. Nakagawa worked as Asahara's primary doctor, after quitting his medical residency program.

Nakagawa had contact with an American toxicologist researching a string of incidents involving the cult.

Seiichi Endo, 58, studied at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and a graduate school in Kyoto University. At the cult, he had engaged in producing botulinum in his special experiment facility.

During his trial, Endo never wavered in his devotion to Asahara.