Governor Sarah Palin

Sarah Heath Palin arrived in Alaska with her family in 1964. She graduated from Wasilla High School and has lived in Skagway, Eagle River and Wasilla. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987.

Sarah Palin made history on Dec. 4, 2006, when she became the first woman elected governor of Alaska. Her priorities were resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development.

Under her leadership, Alaska invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, and implemented the Senior Benefits Program to provide support for low-income older Alaskans. She created Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to oversee maintenance of oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure, and a Climate Change Subcabinet to prepare a climate change strategy for Alaska. Palin’s administration passed major legislation that began a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline and overhauled state ethics laws. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain selected Governor Palin to run on his ticket as Vice President.

Palin resigned as governor of Alaska during the third year of her term. Prior to her election as governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council, two terms as the mayor/manager of Wasilla and chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.