But Mr Laar, a talkative man in a taciturn nation, sometimes seems better at burnishing his country's image to foreigners than at connecting with his own people, many of whom think of him as glib, even slippery.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Mr. Marsland, 52, is a talkative white man who had lived in a small town outside Binghamton since he was a child.

WSJ: After Tragedy, City Suffers Second Trauma Over Victims' Fund