Clinton, he has lobbied Fidel Castro face-to-face over students' rights and he speaks six languages.

Yirgalem (Yuri) Tadesse -- self-styled "citizen of the universe'' -- is also 26. Probably going on 46.

Talk to him about politics and he is as comfortable as any grey-suited career diplomat twice his age.

He even has advice for Bermuda, urging the Islanders to put aside their differences and begin building coalitions.

Hooking a thumb under his chin, he speaks with the authority of a world-traveller who has rubbed shoulders with life's movers and shakers and formed his own opinions.

"Jesse Jackson calls me his ambassador,'' he says with a smile. Somehow, one is not surprised at the compliment.

Not bad for an Ethiopian refugee torn from his family while a little boy and raised in Cuba, in order to be force-fed Marxist ideology.

Not bad for someone driven to Spain after being unable to return to his strife-torn country.

Not bad, too, for someone who defied financial hardship to study at two American universities, saddling him with huge debts.

Tadesse's story is one of battling against the odds.

And the man who has become almost a substitute father -- Bermudian banker Clement Talbot -- hopes it will inspire this Island's youth.

It was ten years ago that Mr. Talbot, the Bank of Bermuda's assistant vice-president of corporate banking, "adopted'' Tadesse after their paths crossed in Madrid.

At that stage, the Spanish-speaking Tadesse was eking out a precarious living, with little or no income.

With Mr. Talbot's moral support, he slowly pulled his life around.

"It is really an inspirational story. Yuri basically had no parents or financial support, but has managed to overcome the obstacles and stay away from vices. He has now graduated from university,'' Mr. Talbot declares proudly.

Tadesse's story begins in the late 1970s.

Then just five or six, he was sent by Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam's Ethiopian government to Castro's Cuba.

"I think it was part of a plan to indoctrinate young people with Marxist ideology,'' Tadesse explains. "Thousands of young boys and girls were sent to Cuba and Russia.'' Tadesse -- in Bermuda to spend the New Year's holiday with Mr. Talbot -- recalls the trauma of being separated from his parents, sister and two brothers.

Although he kept in touch over the years, he has yet to be reunited.

"I didn't want to go to Cuba. I was so young, but I had no choice. My mother was absolutely devastated.'' Taken to a boarding school in the Isle of Youth, his days were split into two four-hour shifts -- one doing classwork, the other toiling in fields, cultivating oranges and citrus fruits.

"The field work was very hard in that climate and was intended to teach students discipline, a sense of sacrifice and good work ethics.

"In retrospect I feel I benefited from the experience. I feel it made me much stronger, but at the time we thought we were being exploited.'' Tadesse soon became a group student leader and met Castro several times.

"The first time, he asked me what I wanted to become when I grew up. I told him I wanted to be a lawyer and I remember him grabbing my hand.

"He turned to the person next to him and said `This is a future lawyer'.'' Tadesse met Castro again while co-chairman of the international students society at the University of Havana.

Then about 16, he raised problems students were having with housing, schooling and health.

"All our problems were solved in a matter of weeks. Castro is really a charming man who makes you feel comfortable around him.'' Tadesse adds: "I admired Castro because of his leadership and the way he has transformed Cuba to what it is today. Cuba was a mass of despair and poverty.

"In terms of education, health care and housing, Castro has made a major contribution to Cuban society. People are able to go to the school of their choice, any hospital, and see a specialist without paying a dime.'' Tadesse is far from a slavish follower of Castro, however.

"I believe in elections, freedom of speech and the right of lawful assembly,'' he said.

At the University of Havana, Tadesse studied international relations and later electrical engineering.

In May 1987, however, he left Cuba, without completing his studies. He saw little point in doing so because there was no future in his homeland.

"There was major turmoil in Ethiopia and a shake-up in the government. Some of the high-ranking officials were defecting and leaving the country.

"All the indications were that there was no hope for young people coming out of school.'' Tadesse went to Italy but found there were few opportunities there. His next stop was Spain.

"I asked for political asylum at Madrid Airport and three days later I was granted it.

"I eventually got a job as a translator for the United Nations and became almost a social worker assisting other refugees from eastern European countries.

"I was later transferred to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and given an opportunity to travel around Europe.'' Tadesse, who speaks Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, English, Arabic and Ethiopian, then got a big break.

"I received a letter from the United States embassy asking me if I was interested in going to the US to live as a political refugee. I had no hesitation in accepting.'' He went to San Diego, California, and for the first time took English courses.

"In Cuba I could not learn English because it was considered a capitalist language. It was prohibited to learn English. I took an English course for four months until I felt comfortable with the language.'' At the University of San Diego's junior college -- Mesa -- he took an international relations course, before transferring to George Washington University two years later after being offered a scholarship.

He continued studying international relations and in June 1993 began his Masters in political management, completing it in 14 months.

While president of the university's student body in 1992 he met civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, from the National Rainbow Coalition.

"Jackson came to the university to speak and I was his host. He told me how he went to Havana in 1983 to negotiate with Castro for the release of 48 political prisoners, some American citizens,'' recalls Tadesse.

"It was considered a big diplomatic coup to get such concessions from Castro.

"When I told him my story and how I was brought up in Cuba he was fascinated and said `work with us'.'' After doing organisational work and helping with recruitment, Tadesse became Special Assistant in the Rainbow Coalition's National Field Department.

During the 1996 US presidential election, Tadesse got swept up in the Clinton campaign bandwagon.

"We travelled around the country campaigning for the Democratic candidates.

We went everywhere, including campuses, churches, colleges, high schools, prisons, synagogues, mosques, civic association.

"My role was to decide where to go, where not to go, and decide what was politically feasible. I was a political strategist and there was a staff of seven to ten people travelling with us.'' Tadesse, a three-time visitor to Bermuda who has met United Bermuda Party and Progressive Labour Party politicians, has strong opinions of Jackson and Clinton.

"It is a blessing for me to work for someone like Jackson who has dedicated his adult life to public service.

"When I think of the name Jesse Jackson I think of public service. It has been a great learning experience for me.

"He is one of the most eloquent speakers in the country. His goal is to empower the disenfranchised.'' Of Clinton, he says: "He is brilliant. His depth of knowledge about the country and its people is just outstanding.

"He can talk about an individual in Arkansas and know him by his first name.

He has been a very good leader.'' As for himself, Tadesse sees his future developing in two directions.

"I don't desire political office but I think I would like to be a kingmaker, acting as an adviser and strategist. I also want to become a lawyer.'' Tadesse, however, has one more immediate ambition...seeing the family he left behind some 20 years ago.

"I'm hoping that will be possible in 1997. It is a moment I've been looking forward to all my life.'' YURI THE BEST! -- Bermudian banker Clement Talbot (right) with his "adopted'' son Yirgalem (Yuri) Tadesse. It is Mr. Tadesse's third visit to Bermuda.