OTTAWA - Canada's next governor general is the model for a character in a romantic potboiler, a star hockey player at Harvard, a decorated academic and a prolific author.
His resume is packed with titles, accomplishments and awards.
He has rebuffed pleas to run for different federal parties, says a longtime friend who describes his politics as moderately right of centre.
For all the dazzle, David Johnston is a safe choice for a prime minister navigating the precarious waters of minority government.
Everyone agrees the 69-year-old Johnston is thoughtful, diplomatic and humble enough to know when to step out of the limelight. But he's also affable enough to garner respect from a broad array of Canadians.
"He is, of course, the consummate professional," said his friend Tom Jenkins, executive chairman of Open Text Corp. "He is one of those individuals who is very comfortable leading from behind. He's a very humble man. But he is one of great capability."
Johnston was the son of a hardware merchant who was born in Sudbury, Ont., and grew up in nearby Sault Ste. Marie. He spent his youth playing hockey and studying law, earning degrees at Harvard, Cambridge, and Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
While at Harvard, he grew close to Erich Segal, who went on to write the novel "Love Story." A minor character in the story — Davey, the captain of the Harvard hockey team — was based on Johnston.
But most of Johnston's notable achievements are not the grist of tear-jerker fiction. They stem from his passion for education, innovation and technology, and his ability to forge consensus.
He is particularly noted for his efforts over many years to bring together the business community and the scientific community at the University of Waterloo, forming a dynamic community of world-class researchers who make money.
Jenkins remembers a time a decade ago when he and Johnston would trudge around peddling their "knowledge economy" vision. His model of marrying business with research is now the mainstream across the country.
While Adrienne Clarkson put her stamp on the Governor General's office by her attention to aboriginal issues, and Michaelle Jean is known for her standing up for the North and for women, friends of Johnston say he will almost certainly be an advocate for education.
Johnston is relentlessly concerned about literacy, high school drop-outs, women in science, inner-city schools and competitiveness, said Roderick Macdonald, a professor of constitutional law at McGill University who has known Johnston since the 1970s.
"These are incredibly important policy dimensions for the future of Canada and they would not run afoul of anything in the capital 'P' political domain," said Macdonald. "So David can be a real cheerleader and pushing hard on any number of things and I'm sure he'll go for it."
He says Johnston has been courted to run for both the Liberal and Conservative parties.
He did wade into politics by taking on an executive role in the 1995 Quebec referendum but — other than that clear attachment to Canada — he is not especially ideological, Macdonald suggests.
"He's a (Canadian) federalist, a centrist, a bit to the right but not really to the right," Macdonald said.
Much has been made of the fact that Johnston has a background in law at a time when Harper's political manoeuvres have required tough decisions by the governor general. Macdonald points out, however, that Johnston is not a constitutional expert.
"But he knows enough constitutional law, as lawyer, to know what he doesn't know," Macdonald added.
As principal and vice-chancellor at McGill in the 1980s, Johnston was quick to surround himself with "bright lights" who would make for a stronger institution — even if it meant taking himself off centre stage, Macdonald said.
He expects the same type of behaviour from the governor general. If the prime minister presents Johnston with a tricky decision about prorogation or the acceptance of a coalition government, Macdonald believes Johnston would make decisions with the interest of preserving the office of governor general in mind.
"If you wind up killing an institution to solve today's problems, you've got nothing there when the next problem comes up. David took many decisions at McGill where the long-term interests of the university were the driver."
Still, he will have some work to do in winning over Quebec, said pollster Allan Gregg.
He said his public opinion research has shown that the one prerequisite Canadians have for their governors-general is being bilingual.
The Prime Minister's Office on Thursday presented Johnston as "fluently bilingual" and Johnston gave a prepared statement in both languages. His French was notably accented and he did not take questions. He was also vice-president of Montreal's No committee during the 1995 referendum.
"He's a safe choice, but he's probably a little less safe for the province of Quebec," said Gregg.
Johnston also raised some eyebrows after he was asked by Harper to define the terms of reference for the Oliphant inquiry into Brian Mulroney's business dealings with German-Canadian arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber.
Johnston said the inquiry should be narrow in scope — a decision that was criticized by some as friendly to the Harper's Conservative government.
And the next governor general will likely never be able to deliver the charisma of the current Governor General, said Gregg.
Jean was chosen by former prime minister Paul Martin because she embodied the immigrant and refugee experience of Canada, Gregg said.
Johnston, said Gregg, also represents a key element of Canada, but one that's not quite so cuddly: scholarship.
Over time, though, he proves himself endearing to those around him, said Jenkins.
He recalls the time a few years ago when he was supposed to meet up with Johnston and another university president at a varsity football game.
Johnston was late, and the others began to get restless — until Johnston showed up rosy cheeked, with his bike in hand. He'd ridden about 25 kilometres from his country home to get to the game, fitting in a work-out while keeping on top of his professional duties.
If Johnston runs the Governor General's office like he runs his own life, expect a flurry of activity, Jenkins says.
"He's a whirling dervish."