Diffident, polite and slender, Bashar Assad (34), hurriedly nominated by the ruling Ba'ath party as the man to succeed his father Hafez, was not originally earmarked as Syria's next president.
That role was reserved for his elder brother Basil, stockier, smarter, more demonstrably self-confident, more fully schooled in the military. But Basil Assad was killed in a car crash near Damascus airport six years ago, and so his younger brother Bashar, who had completed medical studies and was taking an ophthalmology internship in London, was hurriedly recalled to Damascus for what might be termed accelerated dictatorship training.
First came the army. He had served in the medical corps, now he returned to take a tank commander's course and finally was appointed a divisional commander in the Syrian elite forces; with rapid promotions, he ended his service with the rank of Colonel.
Next, his father named him a presidential aide. In 1998, in a clear indication of growing paternal confidence, he was put in charge of Syria's dealings with Lebanon - significant dealings these, since Syria effectively runs that neighbouring state - and has even been reported to be engaged to a Lebanese minister's daughter.
He gained a reputation as a moderniser - in part, because of his leading role in introducing the Internet to certain limited, well supervised groups in Syria two years ago. And, most significantly of late, he has led a campaign against corruption. More than two dozen heads of government corporations are said to have been removed from their positions; dramatically, just last month, the ousted prime minister, Mahmoud al-Zouabi, accused of corruption, killed himself.
And yet, it seems, doubts about his suitability for the presidency remained until very recently - not only among those with competing ambitions, but even with his father. Only a few months ago, Patrick Seale, the British biographer of Hafez Assad who served as the late president's main mouthpiece to the West, was insisting that Hafez was still watching Bashar's progress carefully, evaluating whether he had "the gift of leadership".
Tellingly, Seale noted, Bashar had not been formally nominated as the official successor. And Hafez Assad had done nothing to amend the legislation that restricted the presidency to men aged 40 and over. That amendment had to be enacted, swiftly, in the first hours after Hafez's death on Saturday.
But just before his death, Hafez Assad did commit himself to Bashar. Next weekend, by Hafez's order, the Ba'ath party's ruling congress had been due to convene, with the central order of business being the co-option of Bashar onto the key inner leadership team, perhaps even with the title of vice-president.
The move would have represented Hafez's public endorsement of his son. He died a week too soon to elegantly hand over power.
Still, Hafez did at least smooth much of the succession process for Bashar. One potential threat, the former chief of staff, Hikmet Shihabi, who impressed his Israeli counterparts in their intermittent peace negotiations, was retired two years ago and recently fled to the US.
The military intelligence chief, Ali Duba, was also ousted. But other potential rivals remain, and none more dangerous than Hafez's brother Rifaat, stripped of the formal title of vice-president and exiled to Paris, now relocated to Spain, and undoubtedly coveting the top job, having failed to wrest it from Hafez in a 1984 coup attempt.
Last October, Bashar reportedly co-ordinated a Syrian army attack on Rifaat's holiday mansion in the Syrian port city of Latakia - ostensibly in an anti-corruption crackdown on smuggling, but in reality, it is said, to try and forestall efforts by Rifaat to rebuild a military power base that might pave his way to the presidency.
Another possible rival is the new military intelligence chief Assef Shawqat, who happens to be married to Bashar's older sister, Bushra.
Seale describes him as a Bashar supporter. But last November, French newspapers reported some kind of violent family spat inside the presidential palace, in which Maher, Bashar's youngest brother, shot and wounded Shawqat in circumstances that have not been clarified since.
This weekend's tributes to Hafez Assad have focused on the stability he brought to the country in his 30-year rule. If Bashar has the vigour and single-mindedness to maintain that stability, he has certainly yet to demonstrate it.
The sketchy personality traits suggested by those who have come into contact with him highlight a mild-mannered man, a thinker, calm and courteous. There are no superlatives.
A well-timed profile in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz quoted an unnamed Western ambassador as having said, when Bashar's name was first raised as a possible leader after Basil's death, "This timid man who has no charisma will never be Syria's president."
The same article quoted the Israeli Knesset member, Azmi Bishara, a regular visitor to Damascus, describing Bashar as "level-headed", "straightforward" and "genuinely nice", Hardly the qualities essential for governing an impoverished society facing high unemployment and reeling from the loss, after three full decades, of its autocratic ruler.
In recent months, Bashar Assad is said to have struck up a warm relationship with another raw young ruler, Jordan's King Abdullah.
Together, they are seen by many analysts as potential reformers, new brooms ready to sweep away lethargy and outdated attitudes, to introduce Western ideas and values. In the immediate aftermath of his father's death, there has been every indication that the legacy of Hafez's iron will should prove sufficient to see his second-choice heir installed as president. All the signs, too, suggest that, if able to establish his position, Bashar would start to lead Syria towards greater openness and modernity.
But does he have the skill, strength, wisdom and commitment to cement that hold? Here the signals, to put it mildly, are considerably more mixed.
Reuters adds: Syria's vice-president, Mr Abdel-Halim Khaddam, named Bashar Assad chief of the armed forces yesterday after promoting him from colonel to lieutenant-general, a government spokesman said.
The move appeared aimed at consolidating Bashar's status as new leader of Syria and at ensuring a smooth succession.