Carnot, Marie François Sadi

Carnot, Marie François Sadi (1837-1894), French statesman, born in Limoges, and educated at the École Polytechnique. He entered the civil service and later won renown as an organizer of French resistance to the Germans in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1871 he was made prefect of what is now the Seine-Maritime Department and was elected to the National Assembly. He served as minister of public works in 1880-1881 and again in 1885, and was minister of finance from 1885 to 1886. The following year, he was elected the fourth president of the Third Republic. His tenure was marred by the scandal over the construction of the Panama Canal and by the conspiracy trial of General Georges Boulanger. Carnot was fatally stabbed by an Italian anarchist.