Rex Tillerson
American energy executive
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| September 2023 | The Wall Street Journal revealed internal ExxonMobil documents showing Tillerson and executives sought to diminish public concern about climate change after the company's 2006 acknowledgment of fossil fuels' impact on climate change. |
| 2020 | At the Argus Americas Crude Summit, Tillerson expressed skepticism about humanity's ability to combat climate change. |
| May 2019 | Trump criticizes Tillerson again after reports that Tillerson claimed Trump was outmaneuvered in a meeting with Vladimir Putin. |
| May 2019 | Tillerson spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, revealing differences in his and Trump's value systems and expressing frustration about Jared Kushner's unauthorized diplomatic interactions. |
| 2018 | Concluded his tenure as Secretary of State, with academic experts suggesting his time in office had potentially long-lasting negative implications for the U.S. State Department. |
| December 2018 | President Trump publicly calls Tillerson 'dumb as a rock' and 'lazy as hell' after Tillerson describes Trump as 'undisciplined'. |
| May 17 2018 | Gina Haspel is confirmed as CIA director, becoming the first female to hold the position. |
| May 16 2018 | Tillerson gave a graduation speech at Virginia Military Institute, warning about ethics and integrity, and seemingly criticizing President Trump's approach to truth. |
| March 13 2018 | President Trump fired Rex Tillerson from his position as Secretary of State, announcing his replacement would be CIA Director Mike Pompeo. |
| March 13 2018 | Tillerson comments on the nerve gas poisoning in the United Kingdom of a former Russian spy, calling it a 'really egregious act' that clearly 'came from Russia'. |
| 2017 | During his tenure, Tillerson publicly declared Russia's annexation of Crimea as illegal and drew a parallel between China's island-building in the South China Sea and Russia's Crimean annexation. |
| November 2017 | Tillerson declares the Rohingya persecution in Myanmar as ethnic cleansing. |
| October 2017 | Politico reported on Tillerson's key foreign policy positions, including support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Paris climate accord, and a hard line on Russia while advocating dialogue with North Korea and maintaining the Iran nuclear deal. |
| October 13 2017 | Senator Bob Corker criticized Trump for 'publicly castrating' Tillerson in the midst of their public tensions. |
| October 10 2017 | After the 'moron' comment was reported in media, Trump challenged Tillerson to 'IQ tests'. |
| October 1 2017 | President Trump publicly contradicted Tillerson's diplomatic policy towards North Korea via Twitter, undermining his negotiation efforts. |
| July 2017 | The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control fined ExxonMobil $2 million for violating sanctions in its dealings with Igor Sechin, leading the company to sue the government. |
| July 20 2017 | During a meeting, Trump allegedly suggested a tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, which reportedly led to Tillerson calling Trump a 'moron' or 'fucking moron'. |
| July 9 2017 | Received the Dewhurst Award from the World Petroleum Council in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the oil and gas industry during his 41-year career at Exxon Mobil. |
| June 2017 | Excluded Myanmar, Iraq, and Afghanistan from the list of countries employing child soldiers in the Trafficking in Persons Report, contrary to staff recommendations. |
| June 2017 | Tillerson stated that President Trump had asked him to 'stabilize the relationship with Russia and build trust'. |
| May 2017 | Tillerson joins President Trump on his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia. |
| April 2017 | Tillerson makes his first trip to Russia as secretary of state, meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin. He remarks that Russian-U.S. relations are at a 'low point' and warns Russia about becoming 'irrelevant in the Middle East'. |
| March 2017 | Tillerson makes his first trip to Asia, visiting Japan, South Korea, and China. He remarks that diplomatic efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear development have 'failed' and suggests the possibility of preemptive action. |
| March 2017 | Academic scholars began publicly assessing Rex Tillerson's performance as Secretary of State, with mixed critical perspectives ranging from minimal impact to potential ineffectiveness. |
| March 2017 | Rex Tillerson's use of the email alias 'Wayne Tracker' became publicly known when New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman revealed that Tillerson had used this alias email for at least seven years while CEO of ExxonMobil. |
| March 31 2017 | Tillerson formally leaves office, with John Sullivan serving as acting secretary until this date. |
| March 30 2017 | Tillerson meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, addressing tensions over U.S. support for Syrian Kurds and later commenting on a clash between protestors and Erdoğan's bodyguards in Washington, D.C. |
| March 13 2017 | Trump announces Tillerson's dismissal via Twitter. Spokesman Steve Goldstein is fired the same day for contradicting the official account of Tillerson's dismissal. |
| March 12 2017 | Tillerson cuts short his visit to Africa and returns to the United States. |
| March 9 2017 | Trump communicates with Tillerson about being replaced as Secretary of State. |
| February 23 2017 | Tillerson makes his first visit to Mexico with Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly, meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Videgaray Caso and acknowledging differences in border security views while emphasizing the need for cooperation. |
| February 15 2017 | Tillerson embarks on his first overseas trip as secretary of state to Bonn, Germany, meeting with foreign ministers from G20 countries, including Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. He urges Russia to withdraw from eastern Ukraine and reaffirms U.S. commitment to defending South Korea and Japan. |
| February 1 2017 | Senate confirms Tillerson as secretary of state with a vote of 56 to 43, including all 52 Republicans, three Democrats, and one independent. Tillerson is sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on the same day. |
| February 1 2017 | Became the 69th United States Secretary of State in the Trump administration. |
| January 23 2017 | Senate Foreign Relations Committee approves Tillerson's nomination with a strict party-line vote of 11–10. |
| January 20 2017 | President Trump formally nominates Tillerson as secretary of state to the United States Senate. |
| January 4 2017 | Reported by The Financial Times that he would cut his ExxonMobil ties if becoming secretary of state. |
| January 3 2017 | ExxonMobil announced an agreement with Tillerson to sever all ties with the company to comply with conflict-of-interest requirements related to his nomination as secretary of state. |
| January 1 2017 | Retired from ExxonMobil. |
| 2016 | Tillerson stated that the U.S. should have deployed military units to states neighboring Russia in a more 'muscular' response to Russian actions. |
| 2016 | Tillerson stated that the world would continue to rely on fossil fuels, regardless of preferences. |
| 2016 | Tillerson held $54 million of Exxon stock and had rights to deferred stock worth approximately $180 million over the next ten years. |
| 2016 | Tillerson donated to Jeb Bush's campaign during the Republican primary season, and did not donate to Donald Trump's campaign. |
| December 9 2016 | Transition officials report Tillerson as the top candidate for secretary of state, surpassing other contenders like Mitt Romney and David Petraeus. |
| December 5 2016 | Media speculation begins about Tillerson being considered for the secretary of state position. |
| November 2016 | Condoleezza Rice first recommends Rex Tillerson to president-elect Trump for the secretary of state role during a meeting in late November. |
| October 2016 | Less than two months before his Secretary of State nomination, Tillerson reaffirmed ExxonMobil's support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax as the best policy option. |
| 2015 | Forbes named Tillerson the 25th-most-powerful person in the world. |
| 2015 | Rex Tillerson's annual compensation package was $27.2 million from ExxonMobil. |
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