WASHINGTON, Jan 12: Indian-American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley would appear before a Congressional panel for her confirmation hearing for the post of US Ambassador to the UN on January 18, an official has said.
If confirmed, Haley, 44, the daughter of Indian immigrants, would be the first-ever Indian-American to serve on a Cabinet rank position in any presidential administration in the US.
Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that the nomination hearing to consider Haley to be US Ambassador to the United Nations will be held on January 18.
Haley, who will replace Samantha Power at the UN if confirmed, has already created history by becoming the first women Indian-American Governor of a US State.
After Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, she is only the second ever Indian-American to be elected as the Governor of a State.
Meanwhile, Haley delivered her last State of South Carolina address before State legislators yesterday.
“South Carolina will always be with me. As I move into this new capacity, it is the lessons I learned from this state and its people, starting all the way back when I was a young Indian girl in small, rural Bamberg who spent her time playing tennis and dreaming big, that I will take with me,” she said.
Haley described her departure from the State as a bitter sweet moment.
“It is a bittersweet thing, taking on this new challenge, moving on from this state that I so love, called to serve this nation I hold so dear.
“When the bitter gets a little too strong for the sweet, I try to think of the children’s author, AA Milne, whose loveable character Winnie-the-Pooh so put it like this. How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. And goodbye this is, for now,” Haley added.
Born as Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel