DHAKA: US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed the first two women to his incoming administration.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was nominated as US envoy to the UN while Betsy DeVos as education secretary, reports the BBC.

Both are former critics of Trump, with Haley once saying she was “not a fan”, and DeVos branding the Manhattan tycoon an “interloper”.

The appointments of Haley and DeVos, however, will need to be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Trump called Haley “a proven dealmaker and we look to be making plenty of deals”.

During the Republican primaries, she supported Florida Senator Marco Rubio and then Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Haley also strongly attacked Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigrants, describing it as “un-American”.

In response, Trump had called her “very weak on illegal immigration” and said people in South Carolina were “embarrassed” by her.

Haley, 44, is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina.

Born Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa to Indian parents, she was raised in a Sikh household and now identifies as a Christian.

Haley was praised by members of both parties in 2015 when she ordered the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the grounds of the state capitol.

DeVos said she was honored to accept her appointment.

But the billionaire Republican donor from Michigan once described Trump as an “interloper” who” does not represent the Republican Party”.

She previously supported the Common Core education standards that Trump and many conservatives have pilloried.

So far Trump has appointed Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Mike Pompeo for CIA director, Reince Priebus for Chief of Staff for his top team.

BDST: 0901 HRS, NOV 24, 2016
NJ/SR