Nikki Haley, the first woman candidate of Indian origin in the 2024 United States presidential election, has qualified for the Republican Party’s maiden primary debate, to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday (August 23). The two-time former governor of South Carolina even enjoys support among a sizeable slice of Democrats.

She served as US ambassador to the United Nations in 2017-18. The Republican leader became the first woman governor of South Carolina in 2011, a post she held till 2017. She was also the youngest governor in the United States at the time.

Nikki Haley (Randhawa) was born on January 20, 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina, to an Indian immigrant family who owned a small foreign goods store. The business soon became a successful clothing and gift venture. She worked in her family business as a teenager and continued to do so after her education at Clemson University.

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In 1996, she married Michael Haley, who had served in the National Guard and was also deployed to the Afghanistan war. Eventually, Haley won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 2004. In 2011, she ran for governor of South Carolina. It was a difficult campaign as Haley became a target of racial slurs and accusations of infidelity. Of course she went on to win the governorship.

During her first term, the economy showed a steady growth as jobless rates declined. Haley easily won re-election in 2014 as well. In 2016, Haley was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by the Time magazine.

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As UN ambassador, Haley came across as outspoken, especially on issues related to Iran and North Korea.

In 2019, she reactivated her political career. Although she continued to support then president Donald Trump, Haley was ambiguous about her response to the White House attack in January 2021. Two years later, she announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election with the rousing one-liner, “Time for a new generation.”

Haley became the first Republican to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy back in 2022.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)