Nikki Haley: Who is the Republican 2024 presidential candidate?

She is the daughter of two immigrants from India who ran a clothing store in rural South Carolina, and has spoken occasionally about the discrimination her family faced in a state where only 1.9% of residents are of Asian descent

By Reuters

Published: Tue 14 Feb 2023, 9:55 PM

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday she will seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, putting her at odds with one-time boss Donald Trump, the former president currently leading the Republican race.

Here are key facts about Haley's life and political career.

DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS

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Haley, 51, has gained a reputation in the Republican Party as a solid conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers.

She is the daughter of two immigrants from India who ran a clothing store in rural South Carolina, and has spoken occasionally about the discrimination her family faced in a state where only 1.9% of residents are of Asian descent.

She graduated from Clemson University in 1994 with a degree in accounting and helped expand her parents' clothing business. She took on leadership roles in several business organizations before winning a seat in the South Carolina state legislature in 2004. She is married and has two children.

SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR

Elected governor in 2010, Haley became the first woman to hold that post in South Carolina and the second person of Indian descent to serve as a state governor in the United States.

She received national attention in 2015 when she signed a bill into law removing the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol following the murder of nine black churchgoers by white supremacist Dylann Roof.

She also appointed a potential presidential rival, Tim Scott, to the U.S. Senate in 2012.

UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR

Haley endorsed several rivals to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential nominating contest, and occasionally tangled with him during the primaries.

But she went on to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations, where she gained a reputation as a vocal defender of U.S. interests. During that time, the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, which was unpopular with Republicans.

RELATIONSHIP TO TRUMP

Since leaving the Trump administration in 2018, Haley has distanced herself from the former president several times, only to later soften her rhetoric, saying he has an important role to play in the Republican Party.

She criticized Trump after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, but later sought to make amends with him.

While she has criticised Republicans for falsely casting doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election, she campaigned during the 2022 midterms on behalf of multiple candidates who supported Trump's false election fraud claims.

She has also previously said she would not run for president if Trump decides to run again - a stance she has now reversed.

She did not attend a recent Trump rally at the South Carolina state capitol.