BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – European Union leaders named   Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, a man little known  outside his home country, as the bloc’s first president yesterday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the  world stage.

They also chose Baroness Catherine Ashton, a Briton little  known even in her own country, as EU foreign affairs chief under  a deal that kept out more established figures such as Tony  Blair, and raised questions about how the bloc plans to lift its  profile.

The appointments are intended to bolster the EU’s standing  and help it to match the rise of emerging powers such as China  following the global economic crisis, but neither Ashton nor Van  Rompuy is a familiar figure outside Europe.

“I believe my experience will speak for itself. Am I an ego  on legs? No I’m not. Do I want to be seen to be out there saying  everything all the time? No I don’t. Judge me on what I do and I  think you’ll pleased with the outcome,” Ashton told reporters.

Von Rompuy promised to move “step by step” to help Europe  out of “exceptionally difficult times, a period of anxiety,  uncertainty and lack of confidence”.

Van Rompuy, 62, and Ashton, 53, are compromise candidates  who plan to use quiet diplomacy and consensus. At least  initially they will not have the weight in foreign capitals that  a better-known figure such as Blair, a former British prime  minister, would have had.

Agreement on the positions took weeks, undermining efforts  to present the bloc as a united force, partly because Britain  had demanded Blair should be president.