Who is Mike Pompeo? Donald Trump’s new Secretary of State and former CIA director who replaced Rex Tillerson
We take a look at Pompeo's political background, his net worth and where he stands on important issues like abortion and torture
CIA Director Mike Pompeo was appointed to be US President Donald Trump's new Secretary of State after he spectacularly fired Rex Tillerson.
We take a look at Pompeo's political background, his net worth and where he stands on important issues like abortion and torture.
Who is Mike Pompeo?
Michael Richard Pompeo is an American politician and now the US Secretary of State.
He has been the US Representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district since 2011, and is a member of the Tea Party anti-establishment movement in the Republican Party.
He was selected by President Trump to be Director of the CIA on November 18, 2016.
He is is married to Susan Pompeo and has one son, Nicholas.
Pompeo has also reportedly held high level discussions with Kim Jong-un ahead of The President's proposed meeting with the North Korean leader.
In May it was announced that Pompeo will bring home a trio of American prisoners from North Korea and be in charge of arranging the Donald Trump summit as a result of his second visit to the secretive nation in six weeks.
On September 27, it was announced Pompeo would chair a meeting of the UN Security Council on North Korea to urge the international community to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang.
The council was due to meet at the UN General Assembly to discuss the rogue state of disarming North Korea.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "Secretary Pompeo intends to chair a UNSC ministerial on North Korea on Thursday September 27.
"At that meeting he will get the secretary a chance to update the Security Council on our efforts toward the final fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea as well as underscore the need for all member states to enforce existing sanctions."
She continued: "Secretary Pompeo accepted Chairman Kim's invitation to travel to Pyongyang next month to make further progress on the implementation of the commitments from the US-DPRK Singapore summit.
“Including the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, and to prepare for a second summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim.”
The meeting comes after Pompeo's “very positive” talks with his North Korean counterpart during the annual UN General Assembly meeting.
: “Very positive meeting with #DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho @UNGA to discuss upcoming summit & next steps toward denuclearization of #NorthKorea.
“Much work remains, but we will continue to move forward.”
What has he done before this position?
Pompeo went to the US Military Academy where he majored in mechanical engineering, graduating first in his class in 1986.
He then went on to serve in the regular Army as an Armour Branch cavalry officer from 1986 to 1991.
According to his biography he patrolled the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall and toured in the Gulf War.
He went to Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Pompeo went on to work as a lawyer for Williams & Connolly.
What are his political views?
Pompeo is strongly opposed to abortion except when the mother's life is in danger.
He rejects many concepts about global warming and referred to President Obama's environment and climate change plans as "damaging" and "radical".
He is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, which has endorsed him.
He opposes the Affordable Care Act.
He has supported the National Security Agency's surveillance programmes, dubbing the agency's efforts as "good and important work".
In a 2013 speech on the House floor he said Muslim leaders who fail to denounce acts of terrorism done in the name of Islam are "potentially complicit" in the attacks.
He opposes closing Guantanamo Bay and criticised the Obama administration's decision to end the CIA's secret prisons and the requirement that all interrogators adhere to anti-torture laws.
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What is Mike Pompeo's net worth?
Pompeo is possibly the least wealthy member of Donald Trump's administration, which is littered with millionaires and billionaires.
Latest reports suggest he has a net worth of £247,500 ($345,000) - a meagre sum compared with the £215million ($300million) value of his predecessor Rex Tillerson.
The top salary for Trump’s Cabinet appointees - including secretaries of defence, state, treasury, commerce, labour - is reportedly £147,500 ($205,700) a year.
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