WATERVILLE -- Standing before a group of reporters in his hometown, George J. Mitchell was at ease and in good spirits. Without knowing who he is, few people might guess that Mitchell is charged with one of the most challenging jobs in the world: building peace in the Middle East.

It will take patience, determination and time before leaders see peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the special envoy for Arab-Israeli affairs said during a brief meeting with media representatives Thursday, before giving his 2009 Mitchell Lecture in Lorimer Chapel at Colby College.

The Waterville native was appointed special envoy by President Barack Obama Jan. 22.

"I received a lot of advice from a lot of people, and no one told me it would be easy," Mitchell said. "They said it would be difficult and complex and that it would take a long time to resolve.

"It is as difficult and complex and complicated as everyone told me, but we are determined to hold the course until Obama's vision is realized."

The former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, current statesman and international negotiator is in Maine for a few days before he resumes talks with foreign leaders. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to meet with Arab leaders in Morocco, starting Nov. 2.

Since his appointment, Mitchell has traveled back and forth to the Middle East, where he has spoken with leaders in Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, among other countries. While he has not made concrete breakthroughs, he said, he remains optimistic, cautioning that negotiations take time.

He did not start discussions until late May, he said, because of Israel's elections in April.

"So, if you think about it, it's only been a few months," he said. "There has been some degree of progress, although not as much as we'd like."

The timing of peace talks is particularly important, he said. "There's an old saying that timing is critical in life. It's especially true in the Middle East."

There is a high level of mistrust and a long history of failed discussions in the region, he said, but all sides share a common interest to "realize their aspirations."

Within 48 hours of being sworn in as president, Obama named Mitchell as special envoy -- an action which, Mitchell said, gives significance to Obama's goal of making an impact in the Middle East.

Mitchell was at Colby Thursday to deliver a speech about conflict resolution.

There is more urgency surrounding the resolution of conflict now than in the past, he said, due to technological advancements and significant increases in population. He said these changes have made it easier to kill and sustain conflict and, in turn, have made discussions imperative.

He also discussed health care, saying he is "keenly aware" of the difficulties facing the president and the Senate and that he commends the progress made so far.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is "wrestling in a sincere way" with the challenges of "moving forward," he said.

Mitchell has held several high-profile positions in the past, including negotiating the Northern Ireland peace agreements, investigating the abuse of illegal substances in Major League Baseball and leading a commission to search for ways to stop violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

When he was born, his family lived at Head of Falls, an area along the Kennebec River that was dotted with tenement houses and factories. His father, an orphan of Irish ancestry, was raised by a Lebanese family, and his mother was an immigrant from Lebanon. Mitchell graduated from Waterville High School in 1950. After graduating from Bowdoin College, Mitchell was stationed from 1954 to 1956 in Berlin, Germany, as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps.

He received a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He was a trial lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department and then served as executive assistant to Sen. Edmund S. Muskie.

Mitchell lost his campaign for Maine governor in 1974, but was appointed U.S. attorney in 1977 and a federal judge in 1979.

After Muskie resigned his Maine Senate seat to become secretary of state in 1980, Mitchell was appointed to the Senate. When he ran for election in 1982, he retained his seat by winning 61 percent of the vote.

In 1988, he was re-elected with 81 percent of the vote, the largest margin in Maine history. In January 1989, he became majority leader. He held that position until he left the Senate in 1995.

In 1996, Mitchell chaired peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, which resulted in the 1998 Good Friday agreement.

He became chairman of the international law firm of DLA Piper in 2005. He also served as chairman of the Walt Disney Company.

Staff writer Erin Rhoda was a 2008-2009 George J. Mitchell scholar.

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com