Jerusalem (AFP) - Reuven Rivlin, who was sworn in on Thursday as Israel's 10th president, is a far-right hawk with a quirky sense of humour who is known as the guard-dog of democracy.
Popular and affable, 74-year-old "Ruby" Rivlin was a veteran member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party and a former parliament speaker.
He has made no secret of his vision of a Greater Israel encompassing all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.
But during his tenure as speaker, he also earned a reputation as a fierce defender of democracy, winning him support from the left and even Israel's Arab minority.
Considered to be among the Likud's most hawkish members, Rivlin has never hidden his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state and is a staunch backer of Jewish settlements.
"Rivlin won't be the State of Israel's president, but Greater Israel's president," wrote commentator Ari Shavit in Haaretz newspaper about the largely ceremonial post.
"He will exploit the presidential institution to advance the West Bank settlement project, which he worships, and the one-state solution he believes in," he wrote.
Rivlin, a former military intelligence officer, was quoted in 2010 as saying he would "rather accept Palestinians as Israeli citizens than divide Israel and the West Bank in a future two-state peace solution".
He also opposed Israel's 2005 withdrawal of all settlers and troops from Gaza.
But his jocular approach, coupled with a determined stance on democratic and human rights, has won him plaudits and respect from across the political spectrum.
Indeed, it is his views on other issues that have garnered him support from the left and even the Arab minority, which makes up one fifth of Israel's population.
