COLUMBIA -- Seven months after U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins bade a tearful farewell to House lawmakers as speaker, he returned Thursday to watch as a life-sized portrait of himself was unveiled in the chamber.

"Boy, he's good-looking!" quipped Wilkins to a chamber packed full of lawmakers, the governor, congressmen and friends. "Although I'm a little surprised at the lack of hair."

Among those watching the ceremony was a delegation of friends who traveled from Greenville to watch the event.

Lisa Stevens of Greenville, a former Wilkins campaign chairman who said she's known him for 15 years, called the portrait "beautiful."

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"He was the toughest boss I've ever had," she said. "But the one I would take a bullet for."

Susan Hoag, a Greenville banker and friend of Wilkins' for 15 years, said Wilkins looked handsome in the painting.

"It certainly honored a wonderful person and somebody we can be proud of in South Carolina," she said. "David is an example of what leadership should be all about."

President Bush appointed the 59-year-old former speaker as ambassador to Canada in June of last year.

Rep. Fletcher Smith, a Greenville Democrat, told the assembly that Wilkins "measured up" as speaker through his leadership on the Confederate flag issue, in health-care matters and by sharing power.

"He has been weighed, he has been measured and has been found satisfactory to the task and to the gifts God has bestowed upon him, his family and his nation," he said.

Rep. Harry Cato, a Travelers Rest Republican who chairs the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, told the story of being interviewed once by Wilkins for a position as a committee chairman. He said at the end of his questioning, Wilkins asked, "Will you be with me?"

"And I said, "Of course, David, if you're right, I'll be with you," Cato said. "He said, 'Cato, when I'm right, I don't need you.'"

House Speaker Bobby Harrell described Wilkins as a "statesman."

"As speaker, David Wilkins helped lead our state through troubled times and helped us deal with difficult issues," he said. "This portrait we unveiled today is a symbol of appreciation for all the hard work and dedication David Wilkins has given to our state."

Wilkins, who served in the House for 25 years, called the portrait "an honor of a lifetime."

"My diary of the 25 years I was privileged to spend in the South Carolina House is the story of some of the best days of my life," he said. "And I have all of you to thank for filling every line, chapter and verse of those years with friendship, laughter and love."

Wilkins sat for the portrait, by artist Michael Del Priore, last year. It measures 52.5 inches wide by 69 inches tall and will hang opposite the portrait of former House Speaker Solomon Blatt.

Wilkins' portrait will displace the painting of former Speaker Bob Sheheen because Wilkins served longer.

The chamber is filled with portraits of state and national leaders, including Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan.