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Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Carnahan was a Democrat and held various positions in government.
First elected as a municipal judge in 1960, Carnahan eventually was elected as a State Representative—where he became majority leader during his second term. After being defeated in a race for state Senate in 1966, Carnahan practiced law in Rolla. After a lengthy absence, Carnahan returned to politics in 1980, being elected to the position State Treasurer. He served in the post for 4 years, until he was defeated in a bid for the office of Governor in 1984. In 1988, Carnahan made a second political comeback, winning an election for the job of Lieutenant Governor, the sole Democratic win statewide that year.
In 1992, Carnahan made a second bid for Governor, and defeated St. Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl in the Democratic primary, and defeated state Attorney General William Webster in November to be elected the Governor of Missouri. During his first term, Carnahan signed legislation into law concerning education, and taxes, while also dealing with crises such as the Great Flood of 1993. Carnahan was re-elected in 1996, defeating State Auditor Margaret Kelly. During his second term, Carnahan faced adversity on issues such as abortion, where his veto of a bill restricting abortion was overridden by the state legislature, and faced controversy surrounding his pardon of a death row inmate at the behest of Pope John Paul II.
In 2000, he ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent John Ashcroft in a hotly contested election. During the final weeks of the campaign, Carnahan was killed in a plane crash while on his way to a campaign event. He was posthumously elected to the U.S. Senate and his widow Jean Carnahan was appointed to serve in the Senate until a special election was held in 2002.