Profile: Sarah Palin not just a pretty face

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been chosen as Senator John McCain's vice-presidential running mate in the 2008 election.

Palin was born on February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho. She is married to Todd Palin, with whom she has five children.

A former beauty queen who has been dubbed "America's Hottest Governor," Sarah Palin has nevertheless demonstrated during a meteoric political career that she is more than just a pretty face.

She carries a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. In 1992, she entered public life, serving two terms on the Wasilla City Council until 1996.

In that year, she was elected mayor of Wasilla City, Alaska, for two terms until term limits forced her from office in 2002.

She tried her first statewide campaign for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2002 but lost.

However, she was named chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The 44-year-old mother of five is a conservative opponent of abortion.

In 2006, she upset then-Governor Murkowski in the Republican primary, then defeated former two-term governor Tony Knowles in the general election.

In December 2006, she became the youngest person ever to hold Alaska's governorship.