It would be hard to think of a more fitting appointment, at a more suitable time, than that of Tony Blair as the Quartet's Mideast envoy. Throughout the decade of his tenure as British prime minister - which ended yesterday - Blair expressed a consistent commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he saw as posing a growing danger to the peace of the world at large. Blair's position on the front lines of the international effort to reach an agreement, including now at a critical time to help save the Palestinian Authority from collapse, expresses his determination and belief that there is a way out of the conflict, even if the Israelis and Palestinians have difficulty seeing how it might end.

Blair is bringing a few valuable assets to the mission. These include his wealth of experience in leading one of the most important world powers, and his success in resolving the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, which has lasted hundreds of years and previously seemed as intractable as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is also bringing with him his personal connection with U.S. President George W. Bush and European and Middle Eastern leaders, his demonstrated friendship with Israel - which has withstood calls from influential British groups seeking a boycott of Israel - and his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories.

As a charismatic person, as a politician who rehabilitated his country's Labor Party and brought it three consecutive electoral victories, as a prime minister who refreshed the tired image of his country and turned it into an international cultural and financial center once more, Blair will be remembered as someone who proudly led Britain into the 21st century. His strategic choice of an alliance with the United States cost him fierce criticism both within and outside his country due to his support of and participation in the war in Iraq. But the deep understanding that Blair forged with the American presidents who served during his term of office - Bill Clinton and Bush - has become the foundation stone of the international order of our times.

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Blair's decision to deal voluntarily with the conflict here, instead of retiring to a private life in the business world and on the lecture circuit, shows that he means what he says. In dozens of speeches, lectures and interviews, Blair has spoken about the critical importance of an international role in ending the conflict. Over and over he has said that Israel will not disappear, that the Palestinians will not go away, and that there is no alternative to dividing the land. He has warned that the bloody conflict is poisoning relations between Islam and the West, and serves as an excuse for terrorists and extremist states threatening the world order. He has tirelessly advocated a solution to the conflict that safeguards Israel's security and treats the Palestinians justly.

Due to his familiarity with the controversial issues involved in the dispute, the political leadership on both sides as well as in the Arab world, Blair certainly knows that his task will not be a simple one. He will encounter intransigence, fear, suspicion and pessimism from all sides. But he is armed with leadership experience, international status and the confidence of the Israelis and the Palestinians, qualities that few have merited as has Blair. This raises hopes for Blair's success as he treads a path paved with the failures of many mediators, diplomats and envoys before him.