Events in Palin's political career

- 1992-1996 - Sarah Palin enters public life in Alaska, serving two terms on the Wasilla City Council.

- 1996-2002 - Palin is elected Wasilla mayor, serves two terms until term limits force her from office.

- 2002 - Palin loses her first statewide campaign for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.

- 2002 - Palin is named chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission by then-Gov. Frank Murkowski.

- 2003 - Palin splits with party leaders by exposing ethics violations by Randy Ruedrich, the head of Alaskas Republican Party and a fellow commissioner on the AOGCC.

- 2006 - Palin becomes Alaska governor after defeating the incumbent, Murkowski, in the primary and then beating a former governor in the general election.

- August 2008 - John McCain picks Palin as his vice presidential running mate in a startling selection that makes the Alaska governor the first woman named to a spot on a Republican national ticket.

- September 2008 - An announcement that Palin's then 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant creates a stir as the governor prepares to accept her nomination at the Republican National Convention.

- October 2008 - Palin is investigated for the firing of a public safety commissioner who said he felt pressure from the governor, her husband and her staff to fire a state trooper who had gone through a divorce from Palin's sister. The Alaska Legislature finds Palin abused her power in office, but a report released by the Alaska Personnel Board on the eve of the election clears Palin of wrongdoing in Troopergate.

- November 2008 - McCain and Palin lose the 2008 presidential race.

- June 2009 - Palin blasts comedian David Letterman for making a joke about her daughter getting "knocked up" by New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. Letterman apologizes.

- July 2009 - Palin makes a surprise announcement, saying she is resigning from her post as governor at the end of the month.