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The man tapped to draw up the mandate for the public inquiry into the relationship between Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber has an analytical mind, no political ties and provided the inspiration for a character in Erich Segal's schmaltzy novel Love Story.

David Johnston, 66, is also president of the University of Waterloo, a married father of five daughters (whom he adores) and swears only in Latin - when he does swear.

By all accounts, the bilingual lawyer is a wholesome guy who works hard and is demanding of those he works with. He is considered to be very ambitious.

Although he refused all interviews Wednesday, Mr. Johnston is well known in Canada's academic community, having worked for nearly four decades at Canadian universities.

"He's the opposite of inflammatory," said Margaret Somerville, the founding director of the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law. Dr. Somerville and Mr. Johnston had adjoining offices for a time when he worked at the Montreal university. "He's not wishy-washy. He's got his own principles and beliefs."

Dr. Somerville said that when she was under fire for something she had said, she'd go to her colleague for advice: "David used to say to me in Latin: 'Don't let the bastards grind you down.' … David is far too polite to say it in English."

Mr. Johnston has been president of the University of Waterloo since 1999, and speaks regularly about making the region the knowledge capital of Canada. Between 1979 and 1994 he was principal of McGill, and he was dean of the law school at the University of Western Ontario in London from 1974 to 1979.

Along the way, the native of Sault Ste. Marie has served on various provincial and federal task forces, written books, was the host of The Editors (a current-affairs roundtable on PBS) and moderated the 1984 federal election debate, in which Mr. Mulroney, who was then leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, beat up on Liberal prime minister John Turner.

Mr. Johnston has received honorary doctorates from 12 universities and is a Companion of the Order of Canada.

At different times in his career he was approached by both the Tories and the Liberals to run for federal office but declined.

One colleague said Mr. Johnston once told him that he came from a "long line of Liberals" but added, "I myself am not particularly political."

Not particularly political, perhaps, but one hell of a hockey player, which leads to the whole Love Story story: Mr. Johnston completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard University, where he played hockey and was the captain of the team. There, he met Erich Segal, who went on to write the novel about his time at Harvard.

Mr. Johnston provided the inspiration for the character, who along with the Ryan O'Neal character, put the tie on the doorknob of their dormitory room as a signal that they had female company.

Patrick Martin, The Globe and Mail's Comment editor, who was once a student of Mr. Johnston's and is now his friend, said the professor has confirmed that he knew Mr. Segal and played hockey at Harvard.

"But he just sort of smiles and winces at the other thing," Mr. Martin said. "I don't know how much fiction it is or not, but it was certainly based on their relationship."

Mr. Johnston's colleagues had nothing but praise for him Wednesday. Robert Rosehart, the former president of Wilfrid Laurier University, which is also in Waterloo, characterized his appointment as a "neat choice."

"He's a very affable, friendly person on the one hand. On the other hand, he's a very analytic thinker. He knows how to develop questions. He's like a Gatling gun of questions."

Mr. Johnston has a playful side, too. At a United Way charity event between the two universities about five years ago, a mini-golf course was set up for the presidents to duke it out. Mr. Johnston, who is not a golfer, played with his hockey stick. "I must admit, I was quite surprised that we tied. Me with a putter, him with a hockey stick," Mr. Rosehart said with a laugh.

With reports from Caroline Alphonso and Elizabeth Church in Toronto and The Canadian Press

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