Sarah Palin Biography

Sarah Palin emerged on the political scene in Alaska in 2006, a self-described "hockey mom'' and small-town mayor who ousted the incumbent governor to become the youngest person and first woman to hold the post in a state whose government had been dominated by many of the same faces since its inception. She burst onto the national scene two years later, when Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, drafted her as his running mate on Aug. 29, 2008.

In July 2009, Ms. Palin resigned as governor, saying that what she called frivolous ethics complaints had become a distraction. Sean Parnell was sworn in as Alaska's governor on July 26.

Whether Ms. Palin is a presidential contender in 2012 is just one of the great imponderables — and a point of frustration — giving other candidates pause as they try to plot for the jockeying that will begin in earnest immediately after Election Day 2010.

In January 2011, after a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz. that left six dead and 14 others injured, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona, the apparent main target, Ms. Palin was strongly criticized for her use in 2010 of a map with crosshairs hovering over a number of swing districts, including that of Ms. Giffords. Tim Pawlenty, a potential 2012 rival and the former Republican governor of Minnesota, said he would not have produced such a map.

Ms. Palin, who had been silent for days after the shooting, issued a forceful denunciation of her critics in a video statement that accused pundits and journalists of “blood libel” in what she called their rush to blame heated political rhetoric for the shootings in Arizona.

Her professionally-produced video was sure to intensify speculation that Ms. Palin is planning to run for president in 2012. By taking on her critics directly, using language designed to grab headlines, she is likely to steal attention away from her potential presidential rivals, most of whom have issued more cautious statements.

Full Name: Sarah Heath Palin
Party: Republican
Political Office: Governor of Alaska, 2006-2009; mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, 1996-2002; Wasilla City Council, 1992-1996
Business/Professional Experience: Television sports reporter, 1987-1989; Co-owner of a commercial fishing operation, 1988-2007; owner, sport vehicle rental business, 1994-1997; chairwoman, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 2003-2004
Date of Birth: February 11, 1964
Place of Birth: Sandpoint, Idaho
Education: B.S., University of Idaho, 1987
Spouse: married Todd Palin, 1988
Children: Sons Track, born 1989, and Trig Paxson Van, born 2008; daughters Bristol, born 1990; Willow, born 1994 and Piper, born 2001
Religion: Protestant (nondenominational)
Home: Wasilla, Alaska