Sarah Palin, née Sarah Louise Heath, (born February 11, 1964, Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.), American politician who served as governor of Alaska (2006–09) and was selected by Sen. John McCain to serve as his vice presidential running mate in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. She was the first woman to appear on a Republican presidential ticket. For coverage of the 2008 election, see United States Presidential Election of 2008. Palin was less than a year old when her family relocated to Skagway, Alaska. She completed a degree in communications at the University of Idaho (1987) before returning to Alaska to work