Who is James 'Mad Dog' Mattis, Donald Trump's choice for defence?

Donald Trump has chosen General James "Mad Dog" Mattis to be his defence secretary, describing him as the "General George Patton" of his generation. The 66-year-old former marine served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a reputation for bluntness – but what else do we know about him?

He is a four-star general

Mattis enlisted in 1969, was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer and became a battalion commander in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. He took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was commended for his key role in the Battle of Fallujah the following year.

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Before he retired, Mattis was the 11th commander of the US Central Command from 2011 to 2013, replacing General David Petraeus.

He makes pugnacious speeches

A string of colourful remarks have been attributed to Mattis, says the Daily Telegraph. Most memorable, perhaps, is: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

In 2005, he said it was "fun" to shoot some people, says The Sun, recalling the general's words: "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."

While Mattis is respected as a tough fighter – according to the Telegraph, he is known as the "marine's marine" for his tendency to join troops on the frontline – he is not physically domineering. "In person Mattis is unimposing," the San Diego Union Tribune said when the soldier retired in 2013. "He is rather short and slight of build. He speaks with a lisp and rarely raises his voice." Nonetheless, he is a favourite with the troops.

He doesn't like the name "Mad Dog"

Mattis is embarrassed by the hype that surrounds him, adds the Union Tribune, because he is a "humble and private guy". In 2004, he decried the fandom he enjoys in the military, saying: "I get a lot of credit these days for things I never did."

There is no specific reason for the "Mad Dog" nickname beyond a general commitment to warfare – although CNN says it was given to him after Fallujah. Mattis is also known as "Chaos" and "The Warrior Monk" – this one because he has never married or had children, although he said he would only enter a monastery if it was stocked with "beer and ladies", according to the Union Tribune. Others say it relates to his vast 7,000-volume personal library, which he used to distribute to his subordinates to read.

He favours a two-state solution for Palestine

Mattis is a strong supporter of a two-state solution for Israeli-Palestinian peace and has said Israeli settlements are "unsustainable", harming the peace process and creating an "apartheid" state, the Times of Israel has reported.

Speaking at a security forum in 2013, he was "effusive" in his praise for Barack Obama's Secretary of State, John Kerry. He said Kerry was "wisely focused like a laser beam" on the two-state solution. Mattis has warned that US support for Israel means it loses the backing of moderate Arabs.

He sees Iran as a threat to world peace

Mattis takes an aggressive stance on Iran, believing it to be a threat to stability and peace, says the BBC. The Daily Telegraph said these views harmed his relationship with the Obama administration, which lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern republic after it agreed to limit its nuclear ambitions.

Trump has said he will tear up Obama's Iran peace deal, but Mattis seems unlikely to endorse that, having said there is no option now but to live with "an imperfect arms control agreement".

He is not technically eligible for the job

When the US Congress created the position of defence secretary in 1947, "it said that a military officer would have to be out of uniform for seven years before becoming eligible for the job", says Time magazine.

That stipulation – designed to ensure the US does not become a military state – would seem to rule Mattis out. But commentators agree Congress will simply tear up the rule book and change the law to allow him to take the job.