Honesty is the main characteristic of an ethical person. This word can be used not only to describe how one who lies is unethical, but can also be stretched to cover most other aspects of ethics. For example, stealing from someone is considered a dishonest act, because you are deceiving everyone into thinking you own something that is not yours.
Selflessness is a key secondary characteristic of an ethical person. Most of the time, in order to make the most ethical decision, one must make sacrifices. Very often these sacrifices are extremely miniscule compared to the damages that would be caused by choosing to do something else. It is therefore important for an ethical person to be able to act based on the good of everyone rather than just the good of themselves.
Kindness is a third characteristic of an ethical person. Kindness is covered mostly by honesty and selflessness, but it is important to act selflessly and honestly based on kindness. Selflessness basically states that you wont put yourself above others, but being kind specifies that it is important to treat everyone well.
It is also important for an ethical person to be thoughtful. Having all of the above characteristics means nothing if you are unable to think about your actions and act appropriately. Just because a person means to be honest, selfless, and kind means nothing if they do not think through their actions and verify that they are appropriate.
Finally, an ethical person must be strong. Not necessarily physically strong, but definitely mentally strong. It can be very hard to act ethically all of the time. It is very tempting to take an action that will benefit yourself and harm others simply because you will not see the effects of your actions on the others. It takes a strong mental state to realize that the small benefit to yourself is not worth harming others.
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