Nancy Farmer
2001 - 2004

On November 7, 2000, the people of Missouri elected Nancy Farmer to serve as their State Treasurer, the first woman to serve as the chief financial officer in the state's 180-year history. Treasurer Farmer has a history of public service with an emphasis on public finance issues. She was elected to the State legislature in 1992 and was re-elected for three terms. During her tenure, Nancy chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee and served on both the Budget and Operations and Finance Committee. As chair of Ways and Means, Nancy led the effort to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, one of the largest and fairest permanent tax cuts in Missouri's history. She also worked to enact the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, which spurred investment in redevelopment across the state. In 1997, Nancy was tapped by Governor Bob Holden, who was Missouri’s state treasurer at the time, to serve as his Assistant State Treasurer, the first woman to serve in the post. As state treasurer, Nancy is responsible for managing the state's $17 billion in annual revenues; overseeing the state's banking services; managing the investment portfolio with more than $3 billion invested daily; serving as trustee for more than $155 million in unclaimed property; and administering the state's $350 million MISSOURI FIRST Linked Deposit Program. Treasurer Farmer is committed to making the Missouri State Treasurer's Office one of the most innovative and dynamic treasury offices in the nation. She is pledged to sound investment policies that maximize the state's return on investments without compromising the safety of the state's investments. Nancy's desire to be a public servant began while in college teaching adults with developmental disabilities. Her involvement in St. Louis led her to becoming executive director of a non-profit neighborhood housing and development co-op. Born in 1956, Nancy Farmer was raised in Jacksonville, Illinois, and graduated from Illinois College in 1979. She also studied at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 1998. She married Darrell Hartke, an industrial-organizational psychologist, and they make their home in St. Louis.