Before being chosen as the governor of South Carolina in 2010, Nikki Haley began politics at an early age and spent several years in the state’s House of Representatives. She was the second Indian American governor in the nation, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and the first female governor of South Carolina. She was also the first Indian-American to hold the position. Haley was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump in 2016 to serve as the country’s ambassador to the UN, a position she held from January 2017 to the end of 2018.
Early Life and Career
The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa and Nikki Haley was born on January 20, 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina. She attended neighbourhood schools and earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Clemson University. In the future, Haley worked for her mother’s high-end clothes firm, Exotica International, and contributed to its growth into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
Haley was appointed to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and the Lexington Chamber of Commerce in 2003. In 2004, she was elected president of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She also actively participated in the Lexington Medical Foundation, the West Metro Republican Women, and the NAWBO South Carolina Chapter.
Haley is a board member of the Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church and a Christian convert. She continues to go to Sikh services out of respect for her parents’ faith.
South Carolina Congresswoman
In 2004, Haley ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives and was opposed in the primary by Republican incumbent Larry Koon, who was the longest-serving representative at the time. She became the first Indian-American to occupy office in South Carolina after winning both the primary and general election, both of which she won with no opposition. In 2006, she went unchallenged for reelection, and in 2008, she defeated her Democrat opponent.
Haley ran as a Republican on an anti-tax and fiscally conservative platform. She supported legislation limiting abortion and safeguarding foetuses. Haley expressed support for stricter enforcement of immigration laws as the daughter of legal immigrants.
Vice President Speculation
Rumors circulated in 2012 that Mitt Romney, who was running against President Barack Obama that year, would select Haley to be his running mate for vice president. Haley, however, declared that she would turn down whatever job he could offer her. She stated, “The people of South Carolina gave me a chance,” in an interview with the Associated Press in April 2012. “I have work to do, and I’m not quitting for anything.” In August 2012, Romney declared Paul Ryan, a congressman from Wisconsin, as his vice presidential candidate.
Husband and Children
Haley married Michael Haley in 1996. Michael serves as an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard and was the first-ever First Gentleman of South Carolina when Haley was governor.
The couple have a daughter and son, Rena and Nalin.
