Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley served as the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 to December 2018, and before that as the 116th Governor of South Carolina from January 2011 to January 2017 — the state's first female governor and the nation's first Indian-American governor. Born Nimrata Randhawa on January 20, 1972, in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Sikh immigrant parents from Punjab, India, she earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Clemson University in 1994 and built a career in her family's clothing business before entering state politics. Her confirmation as UN Ambassador was 96-4, reflecting a rare bipartisan recognition of her stature as a diplomat and executive.

Haley's tenure at the United Nations was defined by an unapologetic reorientation of American UN policy toward Israel and away from the institutional deference to consensus that had characterized previous administrations. She oversaw the United States' withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council in June 2018, citing the body's chronic anti-Israel bias and its membership of human rights abusers. She cast the U.S. vote against the December 2017 UN General Assembly resolution condemning the Trump administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital — and then personally called out by name every country that had voted against the U.S., warning of consequences for American aid and bilateral relationships. That vote — in which the U.S. stood essentially alone alongside Israel — became a defining moment for Haley: not defensive or apologetic, but aggressive in its declaration that the United States would no longer separate its Israel policy from its UN conduct.

Haley vetoed or threatened to veto numerous UN Security Council resolutions targeting Israel, and her public rhetoric — "I have to be honest with you: when I come to the UN, I wear heels. It's not for a fashion statement. It's because, if I see something wrong, I'm going to kick" — became emblematic of an American posture at the UN that was entirely new. She launched a failed presidential campaign in 2024 before endorsing Trump, and remains among the most prominent figures in the Republican foreign policy establishment. Her book, "If You Want Something Done" (2022), outlines her governing philosophy and devotes significant attention to the Israel chapter of her UN tenure. At Rank 15, Haley is the diplomat who proved that the UN, long considered hostile territory for Israeli interests, could be transformed into a venue for American assertiveness on Israel's behalf.