Robert Lee Holden Jr. (24 August 1949-) was the Democratic Governor of Missouri from 8 January 2001 to 10 January 2005, succeeding Roger B. Wilson and preceding Matt Blunt.
Biography[]
Robert Lee Holden Jr. was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1949, and he was raised on a farm near Birch Tree. He served in the State House from 1983 to 1989, as State Treasurer from 1993 to 2001, and as Governor from 2001 to 2005, and he was immediately criticized for the extravagant spending on his inauguration and failed to veto a concealed carry bill. The Republicans in the state legislature also prevented him from increasing funding for public education, and he was defeated for re-election in 2004.