Ebullient, effective, persuasive and a conflict "fixer" are words used to describe the former Finnish president, Mr Martti Ahtisaari, who has been chosen jointly to lead inspections of IRA weapons dumps.
The 62-year-old, who completed his presidency in February this year, is best known as the EU's envoy in the negotiations which led to the settlement last year with Yugoslavia of the Kosovo conflict.
As president of a neutral country, which had a strong relationship with Russia, he was asked by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to act as envoy.
He then played a pivotal role with Russia's representative, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, in presenting a peace plan to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic which eventually led to the end of NATO air raids and a settlement.
A career diplomat until his election as president in 1994, the new weapons inspector started his working life as a primary schoolteacher. A few years later he moved on to development projects abroad.
This led to his career in the foreign service, where he developed a reputation as an effective UN diplomat. He became adroit in dealing with conflict situations and firmly established his credentials when, as ambassador to Tanzania, he was chosen to head the UN's Namibian independence process and then headed up the multinational organisation's monitoring force to arbitrate all quarrels during elections there in 1989.
He became UN under-secretary general before deciding to enter politics back in Finland and run for president.
With an international reputation as a diplomat, he was regarded as an electable candidate for the centre-left Social Democratic Party. He became Finland's first directly-elected president in 1994.
His term was not an unqualified success and critics felt that he had lost touch with the Finnish people, in part because he had been abroad for so long. Although he was said not to like the job and to have decided not to stand for a second term, he was prompted by the Social Democratic Party's move to select another candidate for the presidency.
However, it happened at just the right time - when Mr Annan made his request to mediate in Kosovo.
Legend has it that he shared a sauna with President Boris Yeltsin during a visit in 1997, but Finnish observers dismiss this as a local myth. One suggested that sauna summits over vodka were a regular occurrence for Finnish and Soviet leaders in the 1950s and 1960s, when they had a special relationship.
Things have changed since the break-up of the Soviet Union and meetings are now in a more "formal" setting. However, as fact or legend, the story serves to illustrate his reputation as a sociable, colourful character who is well used to the international stage.
In his new role he is expected to bring the necessary experience and sensitivity from previous conflicts. He is also president of the International Crisis Group.
Finnish observers have described his selection as a weapons inspector as an honour for the country and a source of pride.
