Nikki Haley

Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa Haley served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 to December 2018. Previously, Haley served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, the first non-European American and first female governor of South Carolina and the second Indian American governor to be elected in the United States. Haley was a Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 election, the first woman of color to be a major GOP presidential candidate and the first woman to win a state GOP presidential primary (D.C. and Vermont). Haley suspended her campaign on March 6, 2024.

Born on January 20, 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley began keeping books for her mother's clothing store as a teenager. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Clemson University in 1994. She returned to her family's business and helped to make it a multi-million dollar company.

Prior to her time as governor, Haley represented the 87th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010. In 2005, Haley was elected chairman of the freshman caucus and in 2006 was elected as majority whip in the South Carolina General Assembly.

CNN (2020, Jan. 1). Nikki Haley Fast Facts. Retrieved on Feb. 26, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/28/us/nikki-haley-fast-facts/index.html.

Tikkanen, A. (2020, Jan. 16). Nikki Haley: American politician. In Britannica. Retrieved on Feb. 26, 2020 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikki-Haley.