A hero is someone admirable because of his outstanding courage, intelligence, nobility, or exploits. Hero faces dangerous tasks and trials, and is considered heroic only when he finds a way to escape those situations, or die trying. He sees ways on how to protect, not himself, but the people around him. However, intelligence and creativity in finding solutions to a problem are nothing without courage. Most heroes would not ever be in those situations to begin with if they were not brave. .
A national hero is someone who has the characteristics mentioned but acts so for the good of his country and countrymen. When he does heroic acts, it is not merely for those people around him, but, specifically, for his country.
I think that even a man who lived a vicious life but has a heroic act can be considered a hero. I believe that a hero is made and not born. Thus, he may have lived an immoral life but this does not mean that he cannot do acts of bravery in the same way that the ones who lived a noble life have no possibility of doing something that is immoral. In cases of unintentional heroism, wherein an individual is placed unwillingly in a dangerous situation, a fire for instance, and still tried to rescue other's lives, are examples in which we can site heroes who may be, in a way, not the ideal hero due to the way he lived his life. A fireman may live a vicious life but can still be considered a hero since he saves lives. This, I believe, is also true for anyone because I think that each person may become a hero at some point in his life. .