At the age of 44, Mr Hamid Karzai, who became Afghanistan's interim leader today, is already a tribal elder and a veteran of an Afghan war and its bloody political battles.
Such experiences may explain why Mr Karzai, like a lot of Afghan men, looks a lot older than he is. And in a country where the average life expectancy for men is just 46, the next six months are likely to bring more events that will speed the ageing process.
The Pashtun royalist was sworn in as chairman of a cabinet of a powerful mix of Afghanistan's rival factions. It must get the country on its feet again after more than two decades of conflict, including five years of harsh Taliban rule.
The post is partly a reflection of his ability to tackle the tough political landscape and a reward for his backing of the US bombing campaign in his homeland.
As chairman, Mr Karzai heads the 30-member cabinet that will govern Afghanistan for six months, before a "Loya Jirga" grand assembly of elders appoints an 18-month transitional government to organise elections.
To get the post, hammered out at tough negotiations in Germany this month, he had to win the key endorsement of the powerful Northern Alliance.
The alliance took Kabul from the Taliban but is dominated by ethnic Tajiks who have the top posts in the cabinet.
But Mr Karzai, whose main previous government responsibility was a brief stint as deputy foreign minister in 1992, has many of the credentials needed to satisfy the diverse demands of the Afghan factions. As a member of the Pashtun community, which is the largest single group in Afghanistan, he is acceptable in a way that few Northern Alliance leaders would be.
As a close associate of ex-king Mohammed Zahir Shah, he can hope for royalist support. And his record as a fighter in the war against the 1979-89 Soviet occupation earns him the respect of former mujahedeen fighters.
Little over a month ago, Mr Karzai's main concern was to save his life as Taliban troops closed in on him. He slipped into Afghanistan in mid-October to foment an anti-Taliban revolt. Following a tip off, the Islamic militia raided his hideout in Uruzgan province.
Had he been caught, he would no doubt have suffered the same fate as former mujahedeen hero Abdul Haq who had been executed one week earlier while attempting the same mission. Mr Karzai escaped into Pakistan with help from American forces, according to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - a claim denied by Mr Karzai's family.
His forces later teamed up with former Kandahar governor Gul Agha to force the Taliban to surrender their main stronghold of Kandahar on December 7, two days after the factions in Bonn agreed he should head the new government.
Mr Karzai originally backed the Taliban when they appeared in 1994 but quickly became disillusioned with their ruthless tactics and the arrival of Saudi militant Osama bin Laden and his followers, and has often expressed bitterness at the presence of "foreign terrorists" in Afghanistan.
He blamed the Taliban for the assassination of his father, Abdul Ahad Karzai, in the Pakistani city of Quetta in 1999.
The killing saw him become head of the Popalzai clan, which has long wielded considerable influence in southern Afghanistan. His grandfather was a president of the national council which operated during the reign of Zahir Shah until the king's ousting in 1973.
Mr Karzai, born in Kandahar, was educated in Kabul and went to university in Simla, India. His fluent English has further endeared him to western leaders. But he has warned that the international community must not abandon Afghanistan once the anti-terrorism campaign is over.
AFP