New Zealand will again be represented abroad by Winston Peters after the NZ First leader was confirmed as foreign minister in Chris Luxon's cabinet.
On Friday, the 78-year-old returned to centre stage of NZ politics, signing his party up to a three-way coalition government.
He will also serve as deputy prime minister for the first half of the three-year term, and will turn 80 in the role.
Speaking alongside incoming prime minister Mr Luxon and ACT leader David Seymour at a signing ceremony in Wellington's Beehive, Mr Peters was triumphant.
"At a time when on so many issues, we were at an inflection point, we had to succeed, and we have," he said.
"Thanks for the chance to form a new government in this country which is desperately needed."
Mr Peters is a political phenomenon, first elected in 1978 after a brief career as a lawyer and labourer, including a stint labouring on Australia's Snowy Mountains dam-building scheme.
Since his first election, he has ridden the roller-coaster of political fortune, creating his own party, holding several ministerial offices while surviving numerous controversies including run-ins with the serious fraud office over donations.
He has twice fallen out of favour with voters to be dumped out of parliament during his career.
The silver-haired and sharp-tongued force from Northland has returned as an MP each time, guiding NZ First to 6.1 per cent of the vote at last month's election for his party's latest comeback.
As foreign minister, he will be a popular pick both among local diplomats, in Australia, and the region.
While international affairs fall down the pecking order with many Kiwi politicians given NZ's remoteness and small size, Mr Peters has always valued relationships abroad.
"Foreign affairs does matter for this country," he said on Friday, taking aim at Labour's outgoing foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta.
"The Blue Continent matters to this country. Every relationship we've got matters big time and we've let some of them flag.
"We'll be on the road to make sure we keep all our contacts alive and not neglect them year after year in the way that had recently happened.
"We cannot afford the consequences of letting that go again. We're gonna hit the road running.
"I'm very glad to say that so many of my former colleagues have been in touch, on the basis of rumours that some people spread, to thank me for coming back."
While he represents the foreign policy establishment, in other respects the septuagenarian sits well outside the mainstream.
As part of his party's deal with National, Mr Peters has won an investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic which will review "vaccine efficacy".
The deal also sees a pledge to removal and replace "gender, sexuality and relationship-based education guidelines".
Mr Peters is not known for his love of media, but he has been increasingly adversarial towards journalists in recent months, accusing them of being "mathematical morons" and "not telling the truth" during Friday's press conference.
"We don't answer stupid questions," he said to one journalist, before snapping "What's wrong with you?" and saying "You've lost!" to another.
Mr Peters has also pulled off two negotiations in keeping with his long-time persona as a champion of regional interests.
He has secured a $NZ1.2 billion ($A1.1 billion) fund for capital regional investment, and will also become racing minister for a third time.
