Sarah Palin resigns

Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has announced she will resign as governor of Alaska on July 26 and not run for re-election.



Mrs Palin\'s term of office was to end in 2010.



There has been speculation that Mrs Palin, who is very popular with the Republican Party base, might make a bid for the White House in 2012.



Her resignation means Alaska\'s Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will take over as state governor.



BBC reports say Mrs Palin did not reveal what she intended to do after leaving office, and did not give an explicit reason for her decision not to run for re-election.



In a written statement, Mrs. Palin made it clear that once she had decided not to run again, she did not want to hang on in office until her term expired.