Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Prime Minister of the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Charles III Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Ron DeSantis | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Ryan | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pays Pur-Sang, SC | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Joe Wilson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier of South Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office April 16, 2010 – January 3, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Governor | Ernest A. Finney Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Bobby Harrell (2011-2014) Henry McMaster (2014-2017) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mark Sanford | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Henry McMaster | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Lexington-Lake Murray | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 11, 2005 – January 3, 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Larry Koon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Todd Atwater | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Nimrata Nikki Randhawa January 20, 1972 Bambourg, South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Federalist | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | White House | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Clemson University (BS) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||
Template:Nikki Haley series Nimrata "Nikki" Haley (née Randhawa, January 20, 1972), is an American politician who currently serves as the Prime Minister of the United States since January 3, 2019 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pays Pur-Sang, South Carolina. A member of the Federalist Party, Haley previously served as Shadow Secretary for Women and Gender Equality, Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development, and Deputy Leader of the Party during in her first four years in the House of Representatives. Before entering federal politics, she served as Premier of South Carolina from 2011 to 2015 and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015. Haley is the second-woman after Nancy Pelosi, and the first Sikh-American and Asian American to hold the office of Prime Minister.
Haley was born in Bambourg, South Carolina to an Indian Punjabi American Sikh family. Both her parents, Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa, emigrated from Amritsar District, Punjab, India. After graduating from Clemson University, Haley became the Chief Financial Officer for her family's company, Exotica International. Haley was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, serving six terms representing Lexington-Lake Murrary. During her third term in office, she began a campaign to replace Mark Sanford as Premier of South Carolina in which she defeated Bobby Harrell. Haley attracted national attention in 2015 in regard to her response to the Charleston church shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.
In 2014, Haley announced her intention to run for the United States House of Representatives for the Pays Pur-Sang district of South Carolina. Incumbent Joe Wilson was a member of the Reform Party and the recently redrawn districted included more of the Federalist-leaning suburbs of Columbie. Haley easily won the Federalist Party primary for the district with 85% of the vote and went on to win the general election with 54% of the vote after runoffs were conducted through the ranked choice voting system. Haley, who was close to then-party leader Paul Ryan was appointed as Shadow Secretary for Women and Gender Equality. After the Main Street Coalition won the 2016 federal elections, Ryan appointed Haley as Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development. Later that year she was appointed to be Deputy Leader of the Federalist Party after Ryan and then-Deputy Leader Rona Ambrose announced their retirement from federal politics. After the Coalition won the 2018 federal election, Haley became Prime Minister.
Beginning in 2019, Haley's government passed the Immigration Act 2019, the first major immigration reform bill in over 20 years. The government also passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021. In international relations, the government maintained similar policies of the Paul Ryan government in supporting NATO and other American allies. Relations with China have worsened during Haley's government due to the South China Sea dispute, support for Hong Kong in the 2019–2020 protests, and American condemnation of China over the Uyghur genocide. Relations with the Soviet Union have mostly become stronger while the election of Zavier Bilal in Balisca has caused a strain in American-Baliscan relations. Haley's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the State-Federal COVID-19 Cabinet, was initially praised. She was later criticized for reopening the country too quickly and removing the possibility of further lockdowns. However, the government's development and rollout of vaccines was widely praised. Since 2021, the Haley government has primarily focused on the economy and preventing rising inflation.