President-elect Donald Trump announced early Tuesday that Exxon Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson will be nominated for secretary of state. The report came just days after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani removed himself from consideration for the position. Giuliani had been on Trump's shortlist of secretary of state candidates, along with former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Tillerson, 64, was born in Texas. He received a civil engineering degree from the University of Texas. Tillerson resides in Texas and is married with four children.
2. How long has Tillerson worked for Exxon?
Tillerson has spent his entire career at Exxon. He was hired as an engineer by Exxon in 1975 and rose through the ranks, becoming CEO in 2006. He earned $27 million in 2015. Exxon has a mandatory retirement age of 65.
3. What organizations is Tillerson involved with in his business and personal life?
According to his Exxon biography page, Tillerson is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the National Petroleum Council. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the Business Council, and a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an honorary trustee of the Business Council for International Understanding, and a member of the Emergency Committee for American Trade. Tillerson was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2013.
Mr. Tillerson is a past national president of the Boy Scouts of America, a former United Negro College Fund director and is the vice-chairman of the Ford’s Theatre Society.
4. What are Tillerson’s political views?
A longtime Republican supporter, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tillerson supported Jeb Bush during the primaries, and did not donate to the Trump campaign. Tillerson’s past public statements suggest that he is in favor of free trade and leery of government regulations and sanctions.
5. What are Tillerson’s ties to Russia?
In 2011, Tillerson signed an agreement with Russia, worth up to $300 billion, that allows ExxonMobil to drill in the offshore Arctic Kara Sea oil field, but the agreement hasn’t taken affect due to U.S. sanctions against Russia over actions in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship in 2013.
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