The following is a chronology of major events related to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot by a gunman Friday in western Japan.

Sept. 21, 1954 -- Born in Tokyo.

April 1979 -- Begins working at Kobe Steel Ltd.

Nov. 1982 -- Begins working as a secretary for his father Shintaro Abe, then foreign minister.

July 18, 1993 -- Elected to the House of Representatives.

File photo taken in September 2002 shows Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (L) shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, with Shinzo Abe (2nd from L), deputy chief Cabinet secretary of Japan, looking on. (Kyodo)

Sept. 21, 2003 -- Becomes the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Oct. 31, 2005 -- Becomes chief Cabinet secretary under then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Sept. 20, 2006 -- Becomes president of the LDP after its leadership election.

Sept. 26 -- Appointed as Japan's 90th prime minister.

July 29, 2007 -- Presides over the LDP's crushing defeat in the House of Councillors election.

Sept. 12 -- Announces his intention to resign as prime minister.

Sept. 26, 2012 -- Returns to the LDP presidency after its leadership election.

Dec. 16 -- Oversees the LDP's regaining of a majority in the lower house election.

Dec. 26 -- Takes office as Japan's 96th prime minister.

Dec. 26, 2013 -- Visits war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, becoming first prime minister to do so in seven years, triggering criticism from Japan's neighbors and disappointment by the United States.

Dec. 24, 2014 -- Appointed as Japan's 97th prime minister.

Sept. 19, 2015 -- Japan enacts security legislation aimed at expanding the scope of the Self-Defense Forces' operations overseas.

May 27, 2016 -- U.S. President Barack Obama visits Hiroshima with Abe.

May 3, 2017 -- Abe unveils a plan to seek a first-ever change to the pacifist Constitution.

Nov. 1 -- Appointed as Japan's 98th prime minister.

March 28, 2018 -- Abe apologizes after the Finance Ministry falsified documents related to the heavily discounted sale of state land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, linked to his wife.

Sept. 20 -- Secures a third consecutive term as LDP leader.

Nov. 14 -- Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to accelerate talks to conclude a peace treaty between the two countries, hampered by a long-standing territorial dispute.

Aug. 24, 2020 -- Becomes Japan's longest-serving prime minister in terms of consecutive days in office.

Aug. 28, 2020 -- Announces resignation as prime minister due to a flare-up of his chronic intestinal disease.

Nov. 11, 2021 -- Becomes head of the LDP's largest faction.

July 8, 2022 -- Dies after being attacked by a gunman during election campaign in Nara Prefecture.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie (2nd from L) on July 8, 2022 heads to Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, western Japan, where Abe was taken after being shot earlier in the day in Nara. (Kyodo)