Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11 1948) was the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from January 1999 until January 2003. He is a member of the United States Democratic Party.

Barnes was born in Mableton, now a suburb just west of Atlanta. He first became successful in politics in 1974, when he was elected to the Georgia state Senate. He served there from 1975 until 1990, when he ran in the Democratic primary for governor of Georgia. He was defeated by Zell Miller, who later won the election and became an ally of Barnes. Barnes returned to politics in 1992, serving in the Georgia state House of Representatives until 1998, when he ran for governor again, this time winning the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican businessman Guy Millner 53%-44%. He was most known for getting the Georgia state flag changed, and for pushing the Outer Perimeter , both of which led to his re-election defeat in November 2002.