He might have gained a first in history at Magdalen College Oxford and been elected a fellow of All Souls College, but Matthew d'Ancona may also be the first East End resident and Star Wars fan to edit the Spectator in its 178-year history.
Described by one senior colleague as having "a superb mind and a character of oak", the 38-year-old deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph will combine impeccable intellectual credentials with a consensual management style that will please staff at the magazine.
Mr d'Ancona follows the tradition of previous editors, such as Charles Moore and Dominic Lawson, who were blooded on the magazine before going on to greater things in the Telegraph empire.
A David Cameron supporter, his politics are thought to be to the left of those of the magazine's owners, the Barclay brothers.
The Spectator's new editor made his name at the Times, becoming assistant editor at 26 after joining as a trainee in 1991 and working as a news reporter, education correspondent and leader writer.
After his scoop disclosing the details of the Anglo-Irish framework document in 1995 was hailed as one of the biggest of the decade, he joined the Sunday Telegraph in 1996 as political columnist. In 1998, Mr d'Ancona became the paper's deputy editor.
At the British Press Awards two years ago, he was named political journalist of the year (a decade earlier he had been awarded the Charles Douglas-Home Memorial Trust Prize for journalism).
A film buff, Mr d'Ancona's knowledge of Star Wars is extraordinarily detailed and he took time out from his polemical musings on political and economic affairs of state last May to interview George Lucas, the creator of the space saga.
One older potential candidate for the Spectator editorship ruminated, only half in jest, that he was "the wrong side of 45 to be editor of the Spectator". The more youthful Mr d'Ancona (born 1968), however, fitted the age requirement.
But whether his low-key personality means he will carry out his duties in the manner of Boris "Have I Got News For You" Johnson remains to be seen.
Mr Johnson's penchant for publicity - alongside various scandals involving staff at the magazine - pushed its circulation to new heights of 70,000 copies. It will be a challenge for Mr d'Ancona to beef up the title's intellectual credentials while maintaining its popularity.
Mr d'Ancona is a also successful author, having co-written two books on the origins of Christianity and produced two novels.
He and his wife, Sarah Schaefer, the Europe director of the Foreign Policy Centre, live in east London with their two young sons.
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