On Saturday he assured himself a place in history with his fourth-straight election victory, which will make him Australia's second-longest serving prime minister in December.
In a nation that once elected a leader who held a beer-drinking record at Oxford University, Howard has made his blandness and conservatism his main selling points.
It has won him friends in high places.
U.S. President George W. Bush last year called Howard a "man of steel" for defying widespread public anger to send 2,000 troops to join the invasion of Iraq.
On the campaign trail in St. Louis, Bush said, "I want to congratulate my good friend, Prime Minister John Howard, who won a great victory."
In his last three-year term, Howard sealed a free-trade deal with Washington, a multibillion dollar natural gas contract with China and bolstered counterterrorism cooperation between Jakarta and Canberra in the aftermath of the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
If he remains in power until December, the 65-year-old will overtake the record as second-longest serving Australian prime minister. The longest-serving national leader was Liberal founder Robert Menzies, who lasted more than 18 years. After reaching that milestone, Howard is widely expected to retire before the next election, due in 2007.
A staunch supporter of the U.S.-led war on terror, Howard is the first of the three leaders who invaded Iraq to seek re-election. President George W. Bush faces the polls in November and British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to call an election next year.
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