Once you reach later life, it's harder to believe in heroes. But Shirin Ebadi is exactly that to me. Her personal courage, commitment to the rule of law and determination to defend the weak against injustice are qualities that mark out an extraordinary lawyer. But then there are her achievements.
The first female judge in Iran's history. The first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. A forceful campaigner for human rights. An example to us all, as a devout Muslim, that faith and moderation, tradition and modernity can go hand in hand.
It would have been easy when the Iranian revolution took place to have faded into the background. As a woman, Shirin was told she was disqualified from being a judge. She even found herself barred, until she regained her license, from practicing as a lawyer at all. Seeking a quiet life would have prevented the death threats, the imprisonment, the harassment and almost constant fear which have dogged her ever since. But Shirin is made of sterner stuff.
She has risked everything to continue the fight for justice in her own country. She has an almost reckless belief in the principles she learned at law school. In case after case, her skills have been used to champion the rights of women, of children and political prisoners. Nothing, not even her discovery from official papers that her assassination had been casually considered, has stopped her.
But nor has it dented her love for her country. And while the authorities see her as a thorn in their sides, she has won the love and admiration of those whose rights she has championed. Despite little publicity within Iran for her Nobel Prize win, thousands went to the airport to welcome her home.
Lawyers often get a bad press, sometimes with good reason. But Shirin Ebadi makes me immensely proud to belong to the same profession.
QC is a human-rights lawyer and is married to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair