Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 election.

Haley said in a Twitter video on Tuesday, that "It's time for a new generation of leadership."

She served as UN envoy under former President Donald Trump. She became the second major candidate for the Republican presidential nomination after her former boss, who announced his bid last year.

The 51-year-old Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants.

She became the first woman elected as governor of South Carolina before serving as Trump's ambassador to the UN.

During her stint at the UN, she played a role in carrying out the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy. She cut the country's contribution to the world body's budget, arguing that some of its activities are not in line with US national interests.

She came to distance herself from Trump as he continued to claim that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

In a poll conducted by research firm Morning Consult this month, 47 percent of potential Republican primary voters said they would back the former president, accounting for the largest group. It is followed by 31 percent who said they would vote for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is tipped as a possible rival to Trump.