First Indian -American woman to be elected governor

Nikki Haley

Nimrata "Nikki" Haley (née Randhawa, born January 20, 1972) is the 29th and current United States Ambassador to the United Nations.She served as the 116th governor of South Carolina and is a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Haley was the first female governor of South Carolina and the second Indian-American, after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal, to serve as a governor in the United States.

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Nikki Haley

Early life

Haley was born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina, on January 20, 1972 to an Indian American Sikh family.She had always been called "Nikki" by her family. Her father Ajit Singh Randhawa, and mother Raj Kaur Randhawa, emigrated from Amritsar District, Punjab, India.Her father was formerly a professor at Punjab Agricultural University, and her mother had received her law degree from the University of Delhi.

Haley's parents moved to Canada after her father received a scholarship offer from the University of British Columbia. When her father received his PhD degree in 1969, he moved his family to South Carolina, where he accepted a position as a professor at historically black Voorhees College.Her mother, Raj Randhawa, earned a master's degree in education and taught for seven years in the Bamberg public schools before starting a clothing company, Exotica International, in 1976.

At age 12, Haley began helping with the bookkeeping in her mother's ladies' clothing shop, Exotica International. In her autobiography, Haley credited her time keeping the books in her mother’s dress shop with giving her "an extreme watchfulness about overheads and a sharp aversion to government intrusion". The Economist compared her to another shopkeeper's daughter, Margaret Thatcher. In 1989, Haley graduated from Orangeburg Preparatory Schools. She graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in accounting

Career

After graduating from Clemson University, Haley worked for FCR Corporation, a waste management and recycling company, before joining her family's clothing business. She later became Exotica International's controller and chief financial officer.

Haley was named to theboard of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce in 1998. She was named to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commercein 2003. Haley became treasurer of theNational Association of Women Business Owners in 2003 and president in 2004.She chaired the Lexington Gala to raise funds for the local hospital. She also served on the Lexington Medical Foundation, Lexington County Sheriff's Foundation, and West Metro Republican Women. She was the president of the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and was chair for the 2006 Friends of Scouting Leadership Division campaign.

South Carolina House of Representatives

Elections： In 2004, Haley  ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 87 in Lexington County. She challenged incumbent state Representative Larry Koon in the Republican primary—the longest serving legislator in the South Carolina Statehouse. Her platform included property tax relief and education reform. In the primary election, she forced a runoff as Koon won just 42% of the vote. She placed second with 40% of the vote. In the runoff, she defeated him 55%–45%. She then ran unopposed in the general election. She became the first Indian-Americanto hold office in South Carolina.

Tenure：Haley was elected chair of the freshman caucus in 2005 and majority whip in the South Carolina General Assembly. She was the only freshman legislator named to a whip spot at the time.

Fiscal policy：  One of Haley's stated goals was to lower taxes. When Mark Sanford was governor of South Carolina, Haley voted against a proposed cigarette surtax. The revenue from the tax would have been appropriated to smoking prevention programs and cancer research related to smoking. She voted for a bill that raised sales taxes from five cents per dollar to six cents per dollar. The bill exempted sales tax on unprepared food such as canned goods. The same bill also exempts property tax on "owner-occupied residential property" except for the taxes due from what is still owed on the property.

Education：  Haley implemented a plan in which teachers' salaries would be based on not only seniority and qualifications but also job performance, as determined by evaluations and reports from principals, students, and parents. She supports school choice and charter schools.

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Q: When was Nikki Haley born?

Q: What does  Nikki Haley do after she become  the first female governor of South Carolina?

Q: What achievement that she did  on education?

Q:How many awards and honors that she earned?