Rex Tillerson

Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American energy executive and former diplomat who served as the 69th United States secretary of state from 2017 to 2018 in the first administration of Donald Trump. From 2006 to 2016, he was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of ExxonMobil.

Tillerson began his career as a civil engineer with Exxon in 1975 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. By 1989, he had become general manager of the Exxon USA central production division. In 1995, he became president of Exxon Yemen Inc. and Esso Exploration and Production Khorat Inc. In 1998, he became vice president of Exxon Ventures (CIS) and president of Exxon Neftgas Limited. In 2004, he became president of Exxon Mobil Corporation. In 2006, Tillerson was elected chair and chief executive of ExxonMobil, the world's sixth-largest company by revenue. Tillerson retired from ExxonMobil effective January 1, 2017.

Tillerson is a longtime volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. From 2010 to 2012, he was the national president of the Boy Scouts, its highest volunteer position. He is a longtime contributor to Republican campaigns, but did not donate to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. In 2014, Tillerson, who had made business deals on behalf of ExxonMobil with Russia, opposed the sanctions against Russia. He was previously the director of the joint United States-Russia oil company Exxon Neftegas.

Tillerson, an unconventional choice for the role, became secretary of state on February 1, 2017. His tenure was characterized by a lack of visibility in comparison to his predecessors in the traditionally high-profile position. During Tillerson's tenure, new applications to work for the Foreign Service fell by 50 percent, and four of the six career ambassadors as well as 14 of the 33 career ministers, equivalent to military four- and three-star generals, departed. After their relationship deteriorated, Trump dismissed Tillerson in March 2018, and replaced him with CIA director Mike Pompeo.