Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird credited for his first few trips abroad

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is heading to Washington D.C. to meet his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton Thursday.

At the meeting, Baird's first with Clinton, the two are expected to discuss border security, and conflicts in the Middle East and Libya.

This could be Baird's toughest meeting yet.

As described by Fen Hanson of iPolitics, Clinton is "a tough negotiator, hard to impress, and not one to suffer fools gladly."

Stephen Harper's bulldog will have to be at his best.

When Baird was given the role of foreign affairs minister in June, some wondered whether he had too 'crusty' of a personality for a job that requires tact and diplomacy.

"People mainly seem worried that Baird just isn't that nice a guy and might not be the best choice to represent Canada on the world stage," Matt Gurney wrote in the National Post.

"Baird has been the attack dog of Stephen Harper in the House. . . There's an argument to be made that having a guy like Baird permanently on Defcon 2 didn't exactly help make the House a more pleasant place to work."

By most accounts Baird has proved his critics wrong.

His first trip in the portfolio came in June when he travelled to Libya to meet with rebels who had been fighting to oust longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

A former diplomat noted Baird's choice for his first major trip says something about how he will approach the job.

"It shows that he's taking his job very seriously," Paul Heinbecker, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, told Post Media News.

"It's an important aspect of Canadian foreign policy and the hands-on approach . . . is a good thing."

The next high-profile junket was to Asia where Baird helped mend fences with China and signalled an end to the chilly days of the relationship between Ottawa and Beijing.

"I think obviously the relationship has entered a new era over the past few years," Baird said in a conference call with reporters from Shanghai at the end of his visit to China.

"We have a strategic partner, whether it's on energy, natural resources, international affairs."

(CP Photo)