DNC 2016: Bill Clinton rolls back the years to urge people to elect the 'greatest change-maker'

He is older now, his hair more grey, and possessing a voice softened by the years.

And yet on Tuesday night, at the Democratic National Convention, a man considered by many the most natural politician of his generation, turned back the years to tell the world about a women he fell in love with more than 45 years ago, and whom he urged America to elect as its first female president.

“This woman has never been satisfied with the status quo about anything,” said Bill Clinton. “If you believe in making change from the ground up. She’s put years into making people’s lives better.”

He added: “This time Hillary is uniquely qualified…She is still the darn best change maker I have ever know.”

Mr Clinton, 69, the 42nd president of the US, wove a speech that was private yet universal, quiet and still rousing. Over the course of around 40 minutes, he sought to paint a picture of a woman who has been in the headlines for the past 20 years and more, and yet who to many remains a mystery.

His story began four decades ago, when the part were students at Yale. “In the spring of 1971, I met a girl,” he declared. “She walked the whole length of the corridor and said ‘Look if you're going to keep staring at me, which both ought to know each other’s name’.”

During his own terms as president and subsequently, while campaigning for his wife, Mr Clinton has not always been great asset to his wife. He was impeached in 1998 after being accused of perjury and obstruction of justice relating to his affair - one of many apparently - with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

The affair scandalised Washington and might have ended their marriage. Instead, Ms Clinton took the decision to stick with her husband, a decision the wisdom of which has divided opinion ever since.

And on the campaign trail, Mr Clinton has been a mixed blessing to his wife. In 2008, he caused controversies and was even accused of racial stereotyping over comments he made following his wife’s defeat to Barack Obama.

In the 2016 campaign, he has found himself at the center of controversy when he fought with Black Lives Matter activists over his 1994 Crime Bill, a piece of legislation that was widely seen to discriminate unfairly against black and minority communities.

Mr Clinton pointed at the protesters and said: “I don’t know how you would characterise gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack and sent them out on the street to murder other African-American children.”

Referring to his wife’s stance, he added: “Maybe you thought they were good citizens. She didn’t.”

On Tuesday night, Mr Clinton highlighted his wife’s strengths as a mother, and as someone who worked for those with less. He said there was a stark difference between the image he was painting and that which had been portrayed by her opponents at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week.

“How do you square the things I told you with the picture the Republicans painted of their opponent in Cleveland? You can’t,” he said. “Well, One is real; the other is made up.”

Mr Clinton closed his speech with an appeal for action.

“So look, this is a really important point for you to take out of this convention,” he continued, “If you believe in making change from the bottom-up, if you believe the measure of change is making people’s lives better, you know it is hard and some people think it is boring. Speeches like this are fun. Actually doing the work is hard.”

“If you love this country and would like to become a citizen. you should choose immigration reform over someone who wants to send you back,” he said.

“If you love freedom and hate terror stay here and help build a future together."

He added: "If you’re a young African American disillusioned and afraid, help us build a future where no one is afraid to walk outside. Hillary will make us stronger together.”