Ajit Karn
Washington: Nikki Haley, who declared her intention to run for president of the United States in 2024, has not only fought political insiders in South Carolina, but also nations such as China and Russia during her tenure at the United Nations.
In her speeches, Ms. Haley, 51, describes herself as the “proud daughter of Indian immigrants,” yet in public life, her allies and opponents refer to her as a “conservative outsider,” a “pioneer,” and a “warrior.”
Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, who was born in Bamberg to Punjabi Sikh immigrant parents, is the two-term Governor of South Carolina and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
She has a degree in accounting from Clemson University. After that, she joined the garment company her family owned.
Before entering public service, she served as the National Association of Women Business Owners’ treasurer and president.
Haley was the youngest governor in the United States when she was sworn in as South Carolina’s first female governor in January 2011. In addition to becoming the state’s first Indian-American governor, she served two terms.
She served as the 29th US ambassador to the United Nations under the previous Trump administration, from January 2017 until December 2018.
As a woman from a minority ethnic group, Haley has been underestimated her whole life, but she has consistently proved them wrong.
She beat a 30-year Republican incumbent in the state legislature when she sought for office.
She overcame better-known and better-funded Republicans in her bid for governor and defied expectations at the United Nations to demonstrate what genuine leadership looks like to the world.
As Nikki loves to remark, “Underestimating me will be entertaining.” As governor of South Carolina, she was recognised as a job creator, reformer, and conservative advocate; as a diplomat at the United Nations, she was known as a reformer, fighter, and human rights champion.
She ushered in a new era for Israel at the United Nations by pressing former President Donald Trump to relocate the US Embassy to Jerusalem and asserting the “sovereign right” of the United States to do so.
She also defended Israel’s right to self-defense and blasted the United Nations’ habitual anti-Israel bias.
Haley built a tight connection with India, acknowledged its voice, and routinely contacted New Delhi on a variety of global topics of significance.
Also read: Facts About Indian American Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley
She travelled to India in 2018 and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom she discussed ways to strengthen India-U.S. collaboration on several fronts, including counterterrorism.
She negotiated the heaviest sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations and convinced China and Russia to join the accord.
She was essential in building the case for revoking the Iran nuclear agreement negotiated by former US President Barack Obama.
