What to know about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley

This is part of a series on the 2024 presidential candidates.

Nikki Haley was born on Jan. 20, 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina. Her parents emigrated from India in the 1960s.

She has gone by her middle name, which means “little one” in Punjabi, since she was born.

Haley was raised Sikh and has publicly talked about converting to Christianity. She has said she continues to visit Sikh temple with family.

She met her husband, Michael Haley, while attending Clemson University. He is a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard and they have two children together.

Haley was governor of South Carolina from 2011-2017 after serving in the state House of Representatives as a Republican for six years.

She was the state's first female governor at the age of 43 and the country’s youngest governor at the time.

She gained national prominence in 2015 when she signed a bill to remove the Confederate battle flag from South Carolina Capitol grounds.

Haley denounced former President Donald Trump during his first presidential election campaign, criticizing his rhetoric and immigration policies.

Trump nominated Haley to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. She became known as a strong voice on North Korea and Iran.

She backed the Trump administration’s plans to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and controversial policies on Israeli-Palestinian issues.

In 2023, Haley announced she would run for president of the United States against her former boss.