Nikki Haley: Key points about US ambassador to UN

Nikki Haley has been appointed as top US diplomat at the UN. Her elevation as top US diplomat at the UN shows her steep political rise.

Washington, Nov 24: Nikki Haley has been appointed as top US diplomat at the UN. Her elevation as top US diplomat at the UN shows her steep political rise that began six years ago when she was elected as South Carolina's first woman and minority governor.

44-year-old Haley, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, is the first female appointment to a cabinet-level post by President-elect Donald Trump.

Here are some points you need to about her

• Born in 1972 to immigrants parents from Punjab Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley brings both racial and gender diversity to Trump's appointments, which so far have uniformly consisted of white males.

• Her parents migrated from Amritsar.

• She would be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration.

• She has already carved out a legacy for herself, serving as the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife.

• Prior to becoming the state's chief executive, she served six years as a member of the state's House of Representatives.

• Haley was critical of Trump during the primary campaign and had backed Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary.

• Haley, who was raised as a Sikh and later converted to Christianity, is married to Army National Guard Captain Michael Haley and has two children.

OneIndia News