US President-elect Donald Trump has named ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, the latest nominee or leading candidate with ties to fossil fuels for senior posts in his administration, and setting up potentially difficult Senate confirmation hearings.

Tillerson’s selection for the post is unusual in that he has no prior government or military experience, no sitting corporate chief executive has held the post in modern America, and he believes that climate change is real – unlike Trump.

Since