WASHINGTON, DC (AFP) - In announcing her resignation as Alaska governor Friday, Sarah Palin ensured she will likely remain at the forefront of American politics for some time to come.

The surprise move by Palin, who ascended to international fame overnight when she became Republican John McCain's running mate in his failed 2008 presidential campaign and her party's popular but polarizing new cheerleader, immediately fueled speculation of a possible 2012 White House bid of her own.

A June 2 CNN poll had Palin, 45, running neck-and-neck with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and ex-Arkansas governor Mick Huckabee in the top three favorites to head up the Republican ticket for the next presidential elections.

The ex-beauty queen, moose hunter and mother of five wooed conservative Americans on the campaign trail by weaving together traditional values and dazzling telegenics, energizing the Republican Party's base.

But the new Republican cheerleader was also a polarizing one, fueling a backlash from Independents and Democrats against McCain, a self-styled "maverick" who has sometimes been at odds with staunch conservatives in his party on issues like illegal immigration and global warming.

She was the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket and only the second woman ever to serve as running mate for a major-party White House bid, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro, who ran as VP in 1984.

As governor, Palin has earned approval ratings as high as 80 percent, but she has only led the vast, oil-producing northwestern state since December 2006, when she became the youngest person ever to hold Alaska's governorship.

A series of ethics complaints and her failed run with McCain also saw popularity dip for Palin, who has cast herself as an anti-corruption star.

A state troopers union brought an ethics complaint against Palin, alleging she and other officials had disclosed confidential information on her former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, and systematically sought to fire him.

Ethics complaint against the governor and other senior officials from her administration have reportedly cost the state personnel board nearly 300,000 dollars, the bulk of it from the "Troopergate" investigation.

Palin has also reportedly spent over $600,000 in personal legal bills to fight the accusations.

The carefully coiffed conservative Christian, once dubbed "America's Hottest Governor," made a series of blunders in high-profile interviews during the presidential campaign that fueled fears she was too inexperienced to be the nation's second in command.

Many observers said the photogenic governor's faux pas and perceived lack of experience in national politics contributed to McCain's loss.

Alarms went off after she gave interviews in which she cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as evidence of her foreign policy experience, and suggested, wrongly, that the vice president was in charge of the US Senate.

But the governor retains star power in the battered Republican Party, still reeling from its heavy defeat by Democratic President Barack Obama in the November presidential elections.

She has already inked a lucrative book-writing deal with publisher HarperCollins believed to be worth up to $11 million, although the amount has not been disclosed, for a memoir to be published in early 2010.

Born on February 11, 1964 in Idaho, Palin grew up in the town of Wasilla, Alaska--population 8,500--when her family moved there. She led the high school basketball team, where she earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her aggressive, determined style.

She studied journalism at the University of Idaho and worked in Anchorage as a television sports reporter before moving into politics.

She returned to Wasilla in 1992 to serve on the city council. Later, she successfully challenged the incumbent-mayor and held office from 1996-2002.

On taking office as governor in 2006, she immediately began a drive focusing on legislative ethics, pushing through a reform bill within six months of her election win.

Palin has a son, Track, in the US army who deployed to Iraq on September 11, and daughters Bristol, 18, Willow, 14, and Piper, seven.

An ardent "pro-life" campaigner, she has a young son, Trig, with Down Syndrome, who was born in April 2008. Her unwed teenage daughter, Bristol, also gave birth to a son, Tripp, last year.

Her husband Todd, 43, is a former commercial fisherman who works in Alaska's oil fields and is a champion snowmobile racer, a four-time winner of the Alaska Iron Dog competition. Alaskans have dubbed him "The First Dude." (AFP)