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Trump picks Exxon CEO Tillerson as secretary of state

Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday picked ExxonMobil chief executive officer Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state.

Calling Tillerson "one of the truly great business leaders of the world," Trump made the announcement on Twitter.

"The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments," Trump tweeted.

Tillerson, 64, is the Texas-based oil company's CEO since 2006. Like Trump, he has no government experience and so far little is known of Tillerson's views about foreign affairs.

The Wall Street Journal early on quoted sources as saying that Tillerson's initial emergence as a candidate for the country's top diplomat surprised senior Exxon officials, including Tillerson himself.

But in Tillerson, a seasoned business executive, some Trump advisers saw a "mold-breaking pick who would bring an executive's experience to the diplomatic role," the Journal reported.

As Exxon CEO, Tillerson, who is set to retire from the company in 2017, oversees business operations in over 50 countries and has known Russian President Vladimir Putin since the 1990s.

Tillerson was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship in 2013, a state decoration to reward foreign nationals whose work is aimed at the betterment of relations with Russia.

Tillerson joined Exxon in 1975 and has spent his entire career at the company. Endi