Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin has formally resigned from office, the former vice presidential candidate announced on Sunday.
She turned over power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
In a farewell speech Sunday in Fairbanks, she warned against big government but gave few clues about her long-term political plans.
Palin was a relative political unknown a year ago when Republican presidential candidate John McCain selected her to be his running mate. The partisan election created problems for Palin when she returned to Alaska.