Sentence:  She was Nicolas Sarkozy's <WSD>pin-up</WSD> for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Figurehead, person who represents an idea, cause etc.