Paschal Donohoe's innate caution, unflappable demeanour and ability to largely avoid political trouble has been his hallmark.
He is seen as a calm operator who took a reflective view on significant decisions at Cabinet level, cautioning colleagues against options which could have negative consequences.
His political base is Dublin Central. He became a councillor in 2004 and unsuccessfully contested the 2002 and 2007 general elections.
He was appointed a Senator in 2007 and finally won a Dáil seat in 2011.
Two years later, when Lucinda Creighton left Fine Gael over the introduction of abortion legislation, Paschal Donohoe became a minister of state.
Then in 2014 he was elevated to the Cabinet and became Minister for Transport and Tourism.
It was here where he first showed his negotiating skills, successfully navigating public transport strikes in Irish Rail, Luas and Dublin Bus.
The 2016 General Election represented a huge challenge for him, when Dublin Central went from four to three seats.
After a tight electoral contest, he retained his seat and was promoted to Minister for Public Expenditure.
The following year he became Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure as Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach.
It was also a time when Ireland was grappling with the fallout from Brexit.
Despite trade turbulence, the country returned to a budget surplus just three years after exiting the bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
He was re-elected to the Dáil in February 2020 but the following month the pandemic brought the economy to a halt.
Paschal Donohoe hit the spending accelerator with generous supports for firms and employees to help keep businesses above water and households solvent.
While politically surefooted, he didn’t always manage to avoid hot water.
In 2023, controversy over his handling of election expenses for posters resulted in a no-confidence motion which he won.
He admitted he had made a "clear mistake".
Abroad his most significant international role was his appointment as president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers in 2020.
This was a very important role for Ireland.
It put him on a global stage and he was on first name terms with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and the former chair of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen.
The Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil coalition deal saw him swap jobs with Michael McGrath and become Minister for Public Expenditure again in 2023.
Technically it meant he would have to stand down from Eurogroup.
But after delicate diplomacy, he managed to hold on to the position as president in an unprecedented deal where Ireland secured two seats at the Eurogroup table with Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath attending.
During his decade swapping between the Finance and Public Expenditure portfolios, Ireland has also held tricky negotiations to retain its tax regime which is attractive for multinationals.
That involved an agreement to increase corporation tax from 12.5% to 15% for large companies as part of an international effort to stop big companies exploiting low-tax jurisdictions.
Since that deal, taxes paid by multinationals have surged.
One criticism of Paschal Donohoe's tenure is that he allowed spending to rise excessively supported by volatile taxes from US technology and pharmaceutical corporations.
But perhaps that expenditure would have risen faster if he was not at the Cabinet table.
During last month’s Budget negotiations, he told colleagues that introducing a VAT cut for hospitality and reducing taxes for middle income workers would have put too much strain on the public finances.
His new role as Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer of the World Bank puts him as number two in the Washington DC-based organisation.
His move is not an enormous surprise as there was speculation that he could have been a candidate for the role of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
His fiscal conservatism earned him the nickname 'Prudent Paschal’.
In the world of global economics, you can be called a lot worse.
