Haley became a popular UN diplomat despite Trump policies

Nikki Haley came to her job as the top US diplomat at the United Nations with no foreign policy experience, but in less than two years she made many friends - even among ambassadors from countries at odds with the Trump administration's policies.

Tuesday's sudden announcement that she was leaving by the end of the year ricocheted through UN headquarters like a lightning bolt, with many expressing shock, and some sadness and dismay.

"It was a surprise, not a very pleasant one for me personally," said Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country has clashed with US positions including on Syria, Iran and Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The ambassadors on the powerful UN Security Council who worked closely with Haley praised her - a testament to her skills and success as a diplomat - though many of their countries, including America's traditional allies, have serious issues with her government's foreign policy.

When Haley arrived at the UN on Jan 27, 2017, she was the former governor of South Carolina and a novice at international affairs but she wasted no time in announcing a new way the US was going to do business.

The Trump administration's goal was to show US strength, speak out, and defend its allies - and as for countries opposing America, "we're taking names" and will respond accordingly, she said.

Haley has kept to that goal, but she has also honed her diplomatic skills, which were recognized by half a dozen members on the 15-nation Security Council as they headed into a closed meeting Tuesday afternoon on chemical weapons in Syria.

Nebenzia said he and Haley have "good working and personal relations despite all the differences that we were and are having." "She's a charismatic personality," he said. "She was a friend to all of us, and ... beyond the doors of the Security Council we as a group were very friendly."
Bolivia's U.N. Ambassador Sasha Llorentty Soliz said the Security Council "is like a family - sometimes a dysfunctional family - but nevertheless we care about each other and I really like Nikki very much."
At a White House event, seated near Trump in the Oval Office, Haley told reporters that her six years as governor followed by nearly two years at the UN has been an "intense time, and I'm a believer in term limits."