Nikki Haley

Born a Sikh, she married a Christian, Michael Haley, in both a Methodist church ceremony and a Sikh gurdwara, in 1996. Her husband is a Captain in the Army National Guard. Today, she identifies herself as a Christian. The couple has two children, Rena and Nalin.

There were rumors of her having an affair with political blogger Will Folks, in 2007, but she vehemently denied the allegation.

Nikki Haley was born Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina, on January 20, 1972, to Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa. Her parents are Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India. Her father worked as a professor while her mother managed her own shop. Nikki has two brothers and one sister.

She began helping her mother at the shop as a young girl. Her early work experience moulded her into an extremely watchful person, a trait that would help her in her future career as a politician.

After attending Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, she joined Clemson University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

After completing her studies, she took up a position in FCR Corporation, a waste management and recycling company. Eventually she joined her mother’s business, Exotica International, an upscale clothing firm, in 1994. The business soon grew on to become a highly successful multimillion-dollar company.

Married to Michael Haley by now, she became known as Nikki Haley. In 1998, she was named to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce. She was named to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, in 2003, and the same year she was made the treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

She became serious about her political career, in 2004, and ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives. She faced a challenge in the primary from incumbent Republican Larry Koon but went on to win the primary. She ran unopposed in the general election and won it to become the first Indian-American to hold office in South Carolina.

She assumed office as the Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 87th district in January 2005. The same year, she was also elected chair of the freshman caucus and majority whip in the South Carolina General Assembly. She successfully ran for re-election in 2006 and 2008.

As a Republican, she assumed a fiscally conservative viewpoint on taxation. She voted for a bill that exempted sales tax on unprepared food such as canned goods and voted against a bill to override the governor's plan to place a surtax on every cigarette produced.

As the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley delivered tax relief for small businesses and brought about Medicaid reform and illegal immigration reform. During her tenure, more than 58,000 jobs in 45 of 46 counties were announced and more than 25,000 South Carolinians moved from welfare to work. Another important achievement was that under her leadership the state made its largest infrastructure investment in a generation without raising taxes.