Nikki Haley
Education
- Accounting degree - Clemson University
Overview
Nimarata Nikki Haley is an American politician who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. She was the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 through December 2018.
Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and earned an accounting degree from Clemson University. She joined her family's clothing business before serving as treasurer and then president of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
First elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, she served three terms. In 2010, during her third term, she was elected governor of South Carolina, and won re-election in 2014. Haley was the first female governor of South Carolina, the youngest governor in the country and the second governor of Indian descent (after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal of Louisiana). She was the first female governor of Asian American heritage. In 2017, Haley became the first Indian American member of a presidential cabinet.
Haley served as United States ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 through 2018, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate in a 96–4 vote, and upon taking the oath of office on January 27, 2017.
Haley affirmed the United States's willingness to use military force in response to further North Korean missile tests in the wake of the 2017–2018 North Korea crisis. She defended U.S. interests, particularly U.S. support of Israel, at the Security Council, and led the withdrawal of the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council. She decided to voluntarily step down as Ambassador on December 31, 2018.
Haley is a candidate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primary for president of the United States in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. She announced her campaign in February 2023
Early Life
Haley was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa on January 20, 1972, at Bamberg County Hospital in Bamberg, South Carolina, to immigrant Sikh parents from Punjab, India. Her father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, and her mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa, emigrated to the United States from Amritsar District, Punjab, India. Her father was formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother received her law degree from the University of Delhi. Haley was known by her middle name, Nikki, a Punjabi name, from her earliest years.
Haley's parents moved to Canada after her father received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia. When her father received his PhD in 1969, he moved his family to South Carolina to be a professor at Voorhees College, a historically black institution.
Her mother, Raj Randhawa, earned a master's degree in education and taught for seven years in Bamberg public schools. In 1976 she started a popular clothing boutique, Exotica International. It closed in 2008.
Haley has a sister and two brothers. Her sister, Simran, born in Canada, became a radio host and Fashion Institute of Technology alumna. Her brother, Mitti, retired as a member of the United States Army Chemical Corps having served in Desert Storm; her second brother, Charan, is a web designer.
At age 12, Haley began helping with the bookkeeping in her mother's ladies' clothing shop, Exotica International. In 1989, she graduated from the private Orangeburg Preparatory Schools. She graduated from Clemson University in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
In September 1996, Nikki Randhawa married Michael Haley; they celebrated with both Sikh and Methodist ceremonies. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son.
Haley converted to Christianity in 1997. She and her husband regularly attend the United Methodist Church. She also attends Sikh services once or twice a year. She visited the Harmandir Sahib with her husband in 2014 during her visit to India. During a Christianity Today interview, when asked whether or not she hopes her parents convert to Christianity, Haley responded, "What I hope is that my parents do what's right for them."
Her husband is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. During her gubernatorial term, he was sent in January 2013 on a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.
Haley and her family reside in Kiawah Island, South Carolina near the city of Charleston
Career
- governor of South Carolina - American politician
Recognition
Friend of the Taxpayer Award, S.C. Association of Taxpayers, 2005
Leader in Liberty Award, ABATE of South Carolina, 2005
Legislator of the Year Award, Centennial Foundation, 2005
Indian American Pride Award, Indian American Friendship Council, 2005
Palmetto Leadership Award, South Carolina Policy Council, 2006
Strom Thurmond Excellence in Public Service and Government Award, South Carolina Federation of Republican Women, 2006
Champion of Housing Award, Home Builders Association of S.C., 2007
W. Mack Chamblee Quality of Life Award, S.C. Association of Realtors, 2007
Order of the Palmetto, 2010
India Abroad Person of the Year 2010, India Abroad, 2011
State Leadership Award, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, 2013
Roger Milliken Defender Of Manufacturing Award, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, Dec 5, 2013[229]
Honorary Doctorate of Public Service, University of South Carolina, May 8, 2015
Ambassador of the Year, Columbia Chamber, 2015
Award of Appreciation, Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, 2015
David H. Wilkins Awards for Excellence, The Riley Institute at Furman University, 2015
First Lady's Visionary Award, Claflin University, 2016
"The 100 Most Influential People", Time, 2016
Hyman Rubin Award, Greater Columbia Community Relations Council, 2016
WDN "10 for 10" award, International Republican Institute, 2016
Global Vision Award, Columbia World Affairs Council, 2016
The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, Forbes, 2017
The 25 Most Powerful Female Political Leaders, Forbes, 2017
Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Clemson University, May 10, 2018
Freedom award, International Republican Institute, 2018
Defender of Israel, Christians United for Israel, July 23, 2018
FDD's Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Statesmanship Award, Foundation for Defense of Democracies 2018
Global Leadership Award Hudson Institute 2018
Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award, Independent Women's Forum,2018
Excellence in Diplomacy Award, B'nai B'rith International, 2018
Citizen of the Carolinas Award, 2018
Ralph Hauenstein Fellowship Award, Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, 2019
Friend of Israel Humanitarian Award, Miami Jewish Federation, 2019
JCCM King David Award 11 April 2019
UN Watch's Eleanor Roosevelt Award, UN Watch 2019
Humanitarian Laureate Award, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, May 24, 2019
Irving Kristol Award American Enterprise Institute 2019
World Jewish Congress Theodor Herzl Award, 6 November 2019
Woman of Courage, College of Charleston's School of Business Award, February 27, 2020
