Nikki Haley is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 through December 2018.
Nikki Haley bio
At the Bamberg County Hospital in Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley was born to immigrant Indian Punjabi Sikh parents as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa. From the Punjab region of India’s Amritsar District, her mother Raj Kaur Randhawa and her father Ajit Singh Randhawa moved to the United States.
Her mother graduated from the University of Delhi with a law degree, while her father formerly taught at Punjab Agricultural University.
From a young age, Haley was known by her middle name, a Punjabi name. After her father was offered a scholarship by the University of British Columbia, Haley’s parents relocated to Canada. Her father relocated his family to South Carolina after receiving his PhD in 1969 and taking a job as a lecturer at Voorhees College, a historically black college.
Raj Randhawa, her mother, has a master’s degree in education and worked as a public school teacher for seven years in Bamberg. She opened the well-known clothing store Exotica International in 1976. It shut down in 2008.
Nikki Haley siblings
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.
Nikki Haley political career
Haley ran in 2004 for the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent Lexington County’s District 87. In the Republican primary, she ran against Larry Koon, an incumbent state representative. He has served in the South Carolina Statehouse’s legislature the longest.
Her program includes lowering property taxes and reshaping education. She need a runoff in the primary because Koon received just 42% of the vote, falling short of a majority. She received 40% of the vote, placing second.
She won the second round 55–45%. In the general election, she faced no opposition.
First Indian-American elected to office in South Carolina is Haley. In 2006, she was elected to a second term without any opposition. She defeated Democrat Edgar Gomez in the race for re-election in 2008 by a margin of 83 to 17%.
Nikki Haley net worth
Nikki Haley reportedly has a net worth of $2 million.
