Shinzo Abe was the longest serving prime minister of Japan when he stepped down two years ago.
But the former premier - who has died after being being shot in the chest twice while campaigning - overcame a debilitating illness to secure his political legacy.
He was so ill during his first term as leader that his tenure only lasted one year before the 67-year-old was able to make a stunning political comeback and write himself into the history books.
Japan is currently in shock after Mr Abe was apparently assassinated while giving a public speech on the campaign trail for a national election.
Public broadcaster NHK said a suspected shooter - being named as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old man - armed with an apparently homemade gun opened fire at him.
Like Britain, Japan does not have a large population of gun owners and such firearm assaults are rare.
Mr Abe was left unconscious after the attack in the city of Nara and later died in hospital on Friday after failing to show vital signs.
What was Shinzo Abe’s illness?
Shinzo Abe revealed after suddenly quitting as prime minister after only 12 months in 2007 that he had been suffering from ulcerative colitis.
The painful disease is a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed and, in the worst cases, small ulcers can develop in the colon, which then bleed and produce pus.
His illness, along with his Liberal Democratic Party enduring a rocky term during his first year, led him to call time on his premiership after only 12 months.
However, after experimenting with asacol, a drug that was unavailable in Japan at the time, Mr Abe made a stunning recovery that allowed him to return to the top five years later, in 2012.
The experience made him an advocate for lessening the time it takes to approve potentially innovative drugs into Japan’s health system.
How long was Shinzo Abe leader of Japan?
Over both his terms, Shinzo Abe was leader of Japan for nine years.
On top of the short one-year stint, his re-election in 2012 saw him remain in power for eight years before finally standing down.
He had served four terms in all when his ulcerative colitis relapsed, leading to his health worsening throughout the summer months of 2020.
After several hospital visits, Mr Abe announced in August of that year that he intended to retire as prime minister, citing his inability to carry out the duties of the office while seeking treatment for his condition.
His political legacy was kick-starting Japan’s flagging economic performance with the policies later dubbed “Abenomics”.
It involved injecting money into the economy, big government spending and bringing in economic reforms.
