Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley announced that her father died on Sunday, June 16, 2024. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ms Haley wrote about Ajit Singh Randhawa, "This morning I had to say goodbye to the smartest, sweetest, kindest, most decent man I have ever known."
"My heart is heavy knowing he is gone. He taught his kids the importance of faith, hard work, and grace," she said alongside a picture of her hugging her father, at a ceremony in her home state of South Carolina to announce her 2023 presidential run.
"He was an amazing husband of 64 years, a loving grandfather and great-grandfather, and the best father to his four children. He was such a blessing to all of us. Happy Father's Day Dad. We will miss you dearly," the Republican leader concluded.
Notably, Ms Haley portrayed herself throughout her campaign as the proud daughter of Indian immigrants before abandoning her bid for the Republican presidential nomination in early March.
Nikki Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972 to Sikh parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa. They had reportedly migrated from Punjab to Canada and then to the US in the 1960s. The Indian-origin Republican leader is one of four children.
She has been the two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations. When she was elected the 116th governor of South Carolina in 2010, she was the youngest governor in the US and the first minority female governor in America.
In 2016, she was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to be the US ambassador to the UN. Ms Haley also had positions on the National Security Council and in the President's Cabinet during her tenure.
