Who is Donald Trump's VP pick Mike Pence?

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) and Indiana Governor Mike Pence (L) taking the stage during a campaign rally at Grant Park Event Center in Westfield, Indiana. AFP Photo

Donald Trump's running mate Mike Pence adds precious Washington experience to the Republican presidential ticket, but he is also a Christian conservative who draws sharp contrasts with the brash billionaire.

Pence, 57, is the governor of Indiana, a lawyer by training and former radio talk show host with strong communication skills.

And he knows his way around the US capital: He held a seat in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and served as chairman of the House Republican Conference -- the party's third most important position on Capitol Hill -- from 2009 to 2011.

Seen as disciplined and relatively discreet, Pence was apparently the favorite ofTrump's children, who exercise much influence over the political novice as he campaigns for president.

Pence's qualities stand in contrast to the more unpredictable personalities of two others shortlisted by Trump: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.

Pence's connections could help ease tensions with a Republican Party still having a hard time digesting Trump, and raise funds for the campaign.

Current House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose relations with Trump are delicate, says he considers Pence a friend.

And Pence's quiet, low-profile personality, shaped in large part by his Christian faith, poses little threat of overshadowing that of Trump, who values loyalty in the people who work with him.

'Very humbled' 

Pence, who met with his potential boss Friday at New York's Trump Tower, told reporters he was "very excited, very humbled, and very grateful" to have been picked as Trump's running mate.

He is seen as helping Trump boost support among traditional conservatives and especially evangelical Christians wary of Trump, and perhaps even with voters in the Rust Belt -- the former industrial area that includes Indiana, neighboring Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Some Republican lawmakers said they liked the idea of Pence on the ticket, saying it would improve the tone and tenor of the debate.

"I'm a big fan of Mike Pence, and I think he probably has a better chance of moving the candidate, perhaps, where he should be," Senator Jeff Flake was quoted as saying. The lawmaker from Arizona took part in a tense meeting last week between Republicans and Trump.

"He's conservative, and he's smart, and he's been good on trade and immigration as well," Flake added. 

While Trump has campaigned on a protectionist platform, Pence adheres to the laissez-faire economic views that are more conventionally Republican. He has publicly backed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the sweeping trade deal that Trumphas repeatedly blasted as bad for US jobs.

Pence has also denounced Trump's proposal to close US borders to Muslims as "unconstitutional."

He has broken with Trump on Iraq, having been a co-sponsor of the 2002 Iraq war resolution.

Trump has called the Iraq war a "disaster," and he will be watched carefully to see whether he still denounces presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's vote in support of it when she was a senator.

"Pence -- pro-immigration, pro-trade, pro-Iraq war/surge, pro-civility in politics, anti-religious test for Muslims -- signs onto Trump agenda?" Dan Senor, a former aide to the 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, tweeted after the running mate announcement.

Pence is a conservative defender of family values, against abortion and gay marriage, and opposed to the idea of the United States taking in Syrian refugees.

He has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."

As governor, he has signed bills making it harder for women to have abortions, with Indiana the second US state to prohibit ending a pregnancy because the fetus suffers abnormalities.

And he has drawn criticism for a law that critics say discriminates against the LGBT community.

Trump and Pence did not know each other particularly well until now.

The real estate tycoon has met with Pence several times in recent days and campaigned with him Tuesday evening in Indiana.

On Wednesday, Trump and his children met with Pence, who is not well known outside of Republican circles.

Pence had previously been waging an uphill battle to win re-election in Indiana, and faced a strict noon deadline Friday to announce whether he would continue his re-election campaign.