--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Nikki Haley by Lindsey Graham: TIME 100 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdfb2a20a6e08fb2/69888fa4196cf4081403b3c0/time-100-2016-nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 20, 2016 # Nikki Haley by Lindsey Graham  John Moore—Getty Images For South Carolina, 2015 was one of the most challenging years on record. Whether dealing with the hate-filled shootings of the Charleston Nine at Mother Emanuel AME Church, the removal of the Confederate battle flag flying over statehouse grounds, the police shooting of Walter Scott or a 1,000-year flood, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley led with determination, grace and compassion. From shaking up the system to providing kindness and understanding to the individuals and families affected by these tragedies, she put a face on South Carolina that we were all extremely proud of. It is during challenging times when you really learn the mettle of a leader, and in the case of Nikki Haley, she excelled to the lasting benefit of our state. _Graham is a Republican Senator from South Carolina_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2016-time-100/4302106/nikki-haley-2016-time-100/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2016-time-100/4302106/nikki-haley-2016-time-100/"},"headline":"Nikki Haley","datePublished":"2016-04-20T21:12:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:13:52.789Z","description":"She rises to the challenge","url":"https://time.com/collections/2016-time-100/4302106/nikki-haley-2016-time-100/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdfb2a20a6e08fb2/69888fa4196cf4081403b3c0/time-100-2016-nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdfb2a20a6e08fb2/69888fa4196cf4081403b3c0/time-100-2016-nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/2016-time-100/4302106/nikki-haley-2016-time-100/","name":"Nikki Haley"}}]}] ```