Sarah Louise Palin (née Heath), born on February 11, 1964, is an American politician, commentator, and author. She served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. Sarah Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee alongside U.S. senator John McCain.

Palin was elected to the Wasilla city council in 1992 and became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2003, after an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she was appointed chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, overseeing the state's oil and gas fields. In 2006, at age 42, she became the youngest person and the first woman to be elected governor of Alaska. She resigned in 2009 due to legal fees incurred from ethics investigations.

Palin was the first Republican female vice presidential nominee and the second female vice presidential nominee of a major party, following Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. The McCain-Palin ticket lost the 2008 election to the Democratic Party's then-U.S. senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Despite the loss, Palin's vice presidential run greatly increased her national profile.

Since stepping down as governor, she has been involved with the Tea Party movement and endorsed various candidates, including Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign. As a television personality, she provided political commentary for Fox News from 2010 to 2015 and hosted shows such as Sarah Palin's Alaska and Amazing America with Sarah Palin. Her personal memoir, Going Rogue, sold over one million copies.

In 2022, Palin ran in the special election for Alaska's at-large congressional seat but lost to Democrat Mary Peltola. She faced Peltola again in the November general election and was again defeated.