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Donald Trump nominated Republican veteran Mike Pence as his vice-president back in July, in an apparent attempt to create unity within the fractious party.

He was considered a “safe choice”, due to his close ties with the party, but Mr Pence has a history of sparking outrage with his own controversial views.

And the 57-year-old has not been afraid to publicly condemn Mr Trump’s comments throughout the campaign.

So who is the man set to be at the right hand of one of the world’s most powerful leaders? Here is everything you need to know:

Background:

Mr Pence was born to liberal Irish-Catholic parents in Indiana.

He once said it was liberal icons John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. that inspired him to go into a career in politics.

The born-again Christian said his political views shifted more to the right when he met his future wife Karen at an evangelical church in college.

Before entering politics he worked as a right-wing radio host.

Political career:

He has been in office for 15 years, first as a member of Congress and then, since 2013, as Indiana’s governor.

Mr Pence also served as the chair of the House Republican Conference, the third highest-ranking Republican leadership position.

It was hoped that, due to his support in the party, Mr Pence would help to build bridges between the controversial President and Republicans who were against him.

Jubilant Donald Trump supporters 19 show all Jubilant Donald Trump supporters 1/19 Jubilation Donald Trump supporters cheer as they watch the election night results at a rally in New York Evan Vucci/AP 2/19 Heading for the White House Trump supporters gather in Washington Joshua Roberts/Reuters 3/19 Street party A supporter of Trump cheers near the intersection of West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York Alex Wroblewski/Reuters 4/19 Joy A Trump supporter reacts to early poll results at the New York Hilton Midtown Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images 5/19 We did it An attendee holds up a sign in support of Trump Mark Wilson/Getty Images 6/19 Shock result Trump fans react the the shock result Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 7/19 One step closer to victory Trump supporters in North Carolina Jonathan Drake/Reuters 8/19 Overwhelmed An emotional Trump supporter watches the results in Phoenix, Arizona Laura Segall/AFP/Getty Images 9/19 Home win Republicans in Trump's hometown of New York Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 10/19 United Trump supporters hug as they watch election results in New York Evan Vucci/AP 11/19 Flying the flag Trump supporters celebrate in New York City Andrew Kelly 12/19 High five The election results are celebrated in downtown Phoenix, Arizona Laura Segall/AFP/Getty Images 13/19 Selfie celebration Jubilant Trump supporters in New York Shawn Thew/EPA 14/19 Waiting for confirmation Donald Trump and his team 'In the "war room" watching the returns!!!' @EricTrump 15/19 Heading for the White House Chris Christie shakes hands as Trump's team celebrate @AJDelgado13 16/19 Unexpected result Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during an election night rally in New York Evan Vucci/AP 17/19 Republican victory Sarah Palin joins Trump supporters in Manhattan, New York Jonathan Ernst/Reuters 18/19 Party time Trump's election night rally in New York John Locher/AP 19/19 Picture perfect The Election Night Party at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary Balazs Mohai/EPA 1/19 Jubilation Donald Trump supporters cheer as they watch the election night results at a rally in New York Evan Vucci/AP 2/19 Heading for the White House Trump supporters gather in Washington Joshua Roberts/Reuters 3/19 Street party A supporter of Trump cheers near the intersection of West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York Alex Wroblewski/Reuters 4/19 Joy A Trump supporter reacts to early poll results at the New York Hilton Midtown Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images 5/19 We did it An attendee holds up a sign in support of Trump Mark Wilson/Getty Images 6/19 Shock result Trump fans react the the shock result Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 7/19 One step closer to victory Trump supporters in North Carolina Jonathan Drake/Reuters 8/19 Overwhelmed An emotional Trump supporter watches the results in Phoenix, Arizona Laura Segall/AFP/Getty Images 9/19 Home win Republicans in Trump's hometown of New York Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 10/19 United Trump supporters hug as they watch election results in New York Evan Vucci/AP 11/19 Flying the flag Trump supporters celebrate in New York City Andrew Kelly 12/19 High five The election results are celebrated in downtown Phoenix, Arizona Laura Segall/AFP/Getty Images 13/19 Selfie celebration Jubilant Trump supporters in New York Shawn Thew/EPA 14/19 Waiting for confirmation Donald Trump and his team 'In the "war room" watching the returns!!!' @EricTrump 15/19 Heading for the White House Chris Christie shakes hands as Trump's team celebrate @AJDelgado13 16/19 Unexpected result Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during an election night rally in New York Evan Vucci/AP 17/19 Republican victory Sarah Palin joins Trump supporters in Manhattan, New York Jonathan Ernst/Reuters 18/19 Party time Trump's election night rally in New York John Locher/AP 19/19 Picture perfect The Election Night Party at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary Balazs Mohai/EPA

Controversy:

Mr Pence sparked public outcry when he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was accused of worsening discrimination against the LGBT community.

The law was criticised for allowing businesses to refuse service over religious beliefs.

Under public pressure, Mr Pence signed an amendment to state it could not discriminate against sexuality.

But it was not the first brush with controversy with the LGBT community.

In support of a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being "between a man and a woman", he said that gay marriage represents the “deterioration of family” and “societal collapse”.

He also believes that being gay is a choice and that to prevent gay people from getting married is enforcing “God’s idea” and not discrimination.

In 2007 he voted against a law banning discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation.

In 2010 he expressed support for the military policy of not allowing soldiers to be openly gay.

And in March he signed in a law banning women in Indiana from having an abortion if her child is born with a disability.

Working with Trump:

Although steadfastly supporting the Presidential campaign, Mr Pence has not been afraid to publically disagree with Mr Trump.

Before he was selected as VP, Mr Pence labelled Mr Trump’s comments about banning Muslims as “offensive and unconstitutional”.

And in October he said Mr Trump’s leaked remarks about “grabbing p****” were offensive and something he could not defend.

Trump v Clinton: US Presidential Election Race 2016 - In pictures 38 show all Trump v Clinton: US Presidential Election Race 2016 - In pictures 1/38 Republican president-elect Donald Trump embraces his wife Melania Trump during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States Getty Images 2/38 U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York Reuters 3/38 US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, as former President Bill Clinton looks on in New York Jewel Samad/Getty Images 4/38 President-elect Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during his election night rally in New York. John Locher/AP 5/38 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, flanked by wife Melania, pumps his fist as he arrives with members of his family for an election night party at the New York Hilton Midtown in New Yor Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images 6/38 President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Vice-President-elect Mike Pence during his election night rally John Locher/AP 7/38 Donald Trump and his campaign team wait for the election results in New York @DonaldJTrumpJr 8/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rally in front of the White House in Washington Joshua Roberts/Reuters 9/38 American Democratic Party supporters, one in a Wonder Woman costume, react to the news that Donald Trump has won the state of Florida at the Democrats Abroad election night party at Marylebone Sports Bar and Grill in London Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images 10/38 The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reacts to Donald Trump's win. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney 11/38 London Evening Standard front page 'Trump triumph shocks the world Evening Standard 12/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer during the election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 13/38 A man sits with his head in his hands as he watches the results roll in at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clarke 14/38 Jake Krupa colors in an electoral map as states projected for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at an election watching party in Coconut Grove, Florida Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images 15/38 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attends the US Embassy's election night party in central London Yui Mok/PA 16/38 People gather around Times Square to view televised results of the US presidential election in New York Eduardo Munoz/AFP/Getty Images 17/38 Anti Trump protesters gather outside the White House Andrew Biraj/AFP/Getty Images 18/38 A Japanese employee of a foreign exchange trading company works next to screens displaying latest US presidential elections' results on TV news channels, and the Japanese yen's exchange rate against the US dollar in Tokyo Behrouz MehriAFP/Getty Images 19/38 Trump campaign co-chair for Seminole County, Fla., L.A. Key, listens to incumbent Rep. John Mica of Florida's 7th congressional district concede defeat to Democratic challenger Stephanie Murphy, at the election watch rally for the Republican Party of Seminole County in Altamonte Springs, Florida Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP 20/38 Cheerleaders perform at the CNN party Lucy Young 21/38 Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump react as they watch the election results during Trump's election night rall in New York John Locher/AP 22/38 Eric and Lara Lea Trumpo high five whilst Governor Christie shakes hands @AJDelgado13 23/38 UKIP's Nigel Farage speaks to the media outside the US presidential election night party at the US Embassy in London Yui Mok/PA 24/38 A Hillary Clinton supporter anxiously watches the results at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clark 25/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer during the election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 26/38 A man checks out a Trump cake ahead of the rally for Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump in New York City Andrew Kelly/Reuters 27/38 Two woman sit in dismay as they watch the TV screens showing US election results at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clark 28/38 Guests watch the results come in at a U.S. election night party at the United States Embassy in London Jack Taylor/Getty Images 29/38 Partygoers at Dinerama in Shoreditch 30/38 upporters of Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton watch election returns showing Donald Trump winning in Texas at the election night rally in New York, Rick Wilking/Reuters 31/38 A woman wearing an American patriotic top hat poses for a photograph in the foreground of a cardboard figure depicting Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate during the Election Night Party at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary Balazs Mohai/EPA 32/38 Supporters of U.S Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton react as a state is called in favour of her opponent, Republican candidate Donald Trump, during a watch party for the U.S. Presidential election, at the University of Sydney in Australia Jason Reed/Reuters 33/38 wo topless protestors cause commotion at the site where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to work at PS 59 located at 233 East 56th Street in Manhattan NY Daily News via Getty Images 34/38 Sanitation trucks filled with sand act as barricades along Fifth Avenue outside Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York Andrew Kelly/Reuters 35/38 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump vote at PS 59 in New York, New York Carlo Allegri/Reuters 36/38 Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is surrounded by people as she votes at Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 37/38 People watch voting results at Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City Getty Images 38/38 Eric Trump tweets a picture of Donald Trump 'In the "war room" watching the returns!!!' @EricTrump 1/38 Republican president-elect Donald Trump embraces his wife Melania Trump during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States Getty Images 2/38 U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York Reuters 3/38 US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, as former President Bill Clinton looks on in New York Jewel Samad/Getty Images 4/38 President-elect Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during his election night rally in New York. John Locher/AP 5/38 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, flanked by wife Melania, pumps his fist as he arrives with members of his family for an election night party at the New York Hilton Midtown in New Yor Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images 6/38 President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Vice-President-elect Mike Pence during his election night rally John Locher/AP 7/38 Donald Trump and his campaign team wait for the election results in New York @DonaldJTrumpJr 8/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rally in front of the White House in Washington Joshua Roberts/Reuters 9/38 American Democratic Party supporters, one in a Wonder Woman costume, react to the news that Donald Trump has won the state of Florida at the Democrats Abroad election night party at Marylebone Sports Bar and Grill in London Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images 10/38 The Daily Telegraph in Sydney reacts to Donald Trump's win. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney 11/38 London Evening Standard front page 'Trump triumph shocks the world Evening Standard 12/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer during the election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 13/38 A man sits with his head in his hands as he watches the results roll in at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clarke 14/38 Jake Krupa colors in an electoral map as states projected for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at an election watching party in Coconut Grove, Florida Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images 15/38 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attends the US Embassy's election night party in central London Yui Mok/PA 16/38 People gather around Times Square to view televised results of the US presidential election in New York Eduardo Munoz/AFP/Getty Images 17/38 Anti Trump protesters gather outside the White House Andrew Biraj/AFP/Getty Images 18/38 A Japanese employee of a foreign exchange trading company works next to screens displaying latest US presidential elections' results on TV news channels, and the Japanese yen's exchange rate against the US dollar in Tokyo Behrouz MehriAFP/Getty Images 19/38 Trump campaign co-chair for Seminole County, Fla., L.A. Key, listens to incumbent Rep. John Mica of Florida's 7th congressional district concede defeat to Democratic challenger Stephanie Murphy, at the election watch rally for the Republican Party of Seminole County in Altamonte Springs, Florida Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP 20/38 Cheerleaders perform at the CNN party Lucy Young 21/38 Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump react as they watch the election results during Trump's election night rall in New York John Locher/AP 22/38 Eric and Lara Lea Trumpo high five whilst Governor Christie shakes hands @AJDelgado13 23/38 UKIP's Nigel Farage speaks to the media outside the US presidential election night party at the US Embassy in London Yui Mok/PA 24/38 A Hillary Clinton supporter anxiously watches the results at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clark 25/38 Supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump cheer during the election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 26/38 A man checks out a Trump cake ahead of the rally for Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump in New York City Andrew Kelly/Reuters 27/38 Two woman sit in dismay as they watch the TV screens showing US election results at the Democrats Abroad UK Election Party in London Michael Clark 28/38 Guests watch the results come in at a U.S. election night party at the United States Embassy in London Jack Taylor/Getty Images 29/38 Partygoers at Dinerama in Shoreditch 30/38 upporters of Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton watch election returns showing Donald Trump winning in Texas at the election night rally in New York, Rick Wilking/Reuters 31/38 A woman wearing an American patriotic top hat poses for a photograph in the foreground of a cardboard figure depicting Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate during the Election Night Party at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary Balazs Mohai/EPA 32/38 Supporters of U.S Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton react as a state is called in favour of her opponent, Republican candidate Donald Trump, during a watch party for the U.S. Presidential election, at the University of Sydney in Australia Jason Reed/Reuters 33/38 wo topless protestors cause commotion at the site where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to work at PS 59 located at 233 East 56th Street in Manhattan NY Daily News via Getty Images 34/38 Sanitation trucks filled with sand act as barricades along Fifth Avenue outside Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York Andrew Kelly/Reuters 35/38 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump vote at PS 59 in New York, New York Carlo Allegri/Reuters 36/38 Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is surrounded by people as she votes at Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 37/38 People watch voting results at Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City Getty Images 38/38 Eric Trump tweets a picture of Donald Trump 'In the "war room" watching the returns!!!' @EricTrump

But he vehemently denied speculation that he would step down from the campaign, saying the nomination was “the greatest honour of my life”.