Michael Woods is 65, but he looks at least 10 years younger. He dresses in the preppie style of a much younger man, with American-style buttoned-down collars and bright, confident ties.

A relative latecomer to politics, he took Conor Cruise O'Brien's seat in Dublin North East in 1977. Before politics, he had an impressive academic career with four university degrees under his belt.

He has been a Minister for much of the last quarter-century. He stood foursquare behind Charlie Haughey during the various leadership heaves and was often sent out to bat for Fianna Fβil in the bad old days. He received very little support when, in 1992, he took on Albert Reynolds in the battle for party leadership.

Unlike some other members of the Haughey cabinets, his reputation is unsullied by any hint of scandal or impropriety. Woods was once dubbed the "Daniel O'Donnell of Fianna Fβil" because of his cherubic features and his inoffensive persona.

Married with five grown-up children, he lives in Kilbarrack, the northside Dublin suburb vividly brought to life in Roddy Doyle's Barrytown trilogy. Roddy Doyle's father, Rory, is one of Woods' closest political confidantes.

Michael Woods begins each weekday morning with a constituency clinic in his home at 9 a.m. On Saturday, he hold three different clinics across the constituency. He holidays every year in Waterford; he is not one for a glitzy couple of weeks in Florida or Barbados.

Michael Woods is a stickler for detail. He has built a political reputation on his ability to master the brief - especially in social welfare. In the Cabinet, he is said to be most comfortable with Bertie Ahern and Dermot Ahern. He does not seek people out for a chat and he does not seek the approval of other politicians. He is very media-conscious, but can appear uncomfortable with journalists. He says he no plans to retire after the next election.