FX.co ★ Rex Tillerson chosen as Secretary of State

According to the US media sources, President-elect Donald Trump proposed businessman Rex Tillerson Wayne to serve as the US Secretary of State. Earlier, some US periodicals called him the top candidate for the position. Trump thinks highly of Tillerson's experience in working with foreign leaders. Tillerson is said to have an exceptional talent to conclude international agreements even in difficult economic and political situations.

Rex Tillerson was born in 1952 in Texas. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, one of the biggest oil companies in the world. Tillerson joined Exxon in 1975, right after graduation, as an engineer. In 2004, he became the president of the company. Two years later, he was elected the chairman and chief executive officer.

Tillerson maintains relations with Russia, as well as has close ties with Vladimir Putin. In 2013, the Russian president bestowed Tillerson with the Order of Friendship. In 2011, Exxon Mobil signed an agreement with Rosneft, the Russian oil company, on exploration of natural resources at the Black Sea and the Arctic shelf. The agreement valued up to $300 billion.

The anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the United States in 2014 halted fruitful cooperation of Exxon and Rosneft. Tillerson actively protested against sanctions. At the beginning of the last year, Exxon Mobil stated that the sanctions cost the company a billion dollars. In 2016, after a two-year timeout, Tillerson finally came again to Russia to visit the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

Rex Tillerson supports international agreements on free trade, which run counter to Trump's election promises. Tillerson believes that free trading of energy resources will increase investments, create new jobs and increase energy production. The businessman also supports the introduction of carbon taxes. He thinks that humanity will have use fossil fuels for a long time. Among other things, Exxon Mobil invested more than $7 billion into development of green technologies.