Trump Names Lt Gen HR Mcmaster As National Security Adviser

He will replace Lt Gen Michael Flynn who was fired after just three weeks and three days in the job.

A lieutenant general with the US Army, HR McMaster served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he worked on a government anti-corruption drive.

Mr Trump’s first choice, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned down the role, citing “personal reasons”.

Mr Trump has praised Herbert Raymond McMaster as “a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience” who is “highly respected by everybody in the military”.

Gen McMaster is no stranger to questioning authority. In a 2014 interview, he said: “The commanders that I’ve worked for, they want frank assessments, they want criticism and feedback.”

Time magazine named him as one of its 100 most influential people in the world in 2014, saying he “might be the 21st Century Army’s pre-eminent warrior-thinker”.

He criticised the US military’s involvement in the Vietnam War in his book Dereliction of Duty.

He has a PhD in US history from the University of North Carolina.

Gen McMaster has said it is “a privilege… to be able to continue serving our nation” and that he looks forward to joining the national security team.