He served in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, in Moscow during a coup attempt on Mikhail Gorbachev and as a press secretary in Angola where there was little free press.

But new Deputy Governor David Arkley doesn't expect life to be easy just because his latest mission has brought him to a paradise island in the Atlantic.

Following his swearing in ceremony at Government House yesterday, Sir Richard Gozney's new number two told The Royal Gazette he was getting ready for a more hands-on role having never served in an Overseas Territory before.

Since joining the Foreign Office in 1986 as a 19-year-old, Mr. Arkley's career as a diplomat has given him the kind of experience which should help him cope with even the trickier demands of Bermuda-UK relations.

He's taken in stints in Moscow three times, Rio de Janeiro twice, Sao Paolo, Ethiopia, Jordan, Washington, D.C., Saudi Arabia and, for the past two years, Luanda in Angola.

However, on the suggestion Bermuda will be comparatively quiet, he said: "I don't think so. Overseas Territories are very different from an Embassy. There will be a lot more hands-on work in terms of running the Country."

Asked what he would bring to the role as Mark Capes' replacement, he said: "The experience I have gained in all those places, as a diplomat for more than 23 years. It's been a wide experience in different countries.

"I have an understanding of how the Foreign Office works in London and have ties with officials there which will be very useful here.

"I have got a lot of learning to do about Bermuda and the people here and how I can work to help."

Highlights of his career, he said, include the Gulf War at the start of the 1990s, when he was stationed in Saudi Arabia as that country joined forces with the UK, the US and Egypt in an operation to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

In 1991, he was in Moscow on a temporary basis when members of the Soviet Union's government tried to take control of the country, claiming Gorbachev's reform programme had gone too far. Gorbachev returned to power when the coup collapsed after three days but many say the move helped spark the demise of the Communist Party and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Throughout much of Mr. Arkley's career his duties have included communications, including in Angola, where his job was political and press secretary to the Embassy.

The majority of the media in the south-west African republic is government controlled, with Mr. Arkley reflecting: "For most of the time, the free press was limited. It wouldn't run stories as aggressively as it might on the government and officials of the government.

"It's very difficult for opposition to the government in any country that doesn't have a free press to get its voice heard. It's difficult to put the opposite point of view over in politics, environment issues or social issues. If stifles the growth of non-government organisations and civil society.

"That's why I'm so pleased there's an open press here in Bermuda."

Sir Richard and Chief Justice Richard Ground spoke briefly at yesterday's ceremony at Government House, with Attorney General Kim Wilson, Health Minister Walter Roban, civil service head Kenneth Dill, Cabinet Secretary Marc Telemaque and Government Director of Communications Beverle Lottimore in attendance.