Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003.

He was initially considered a heavy underdog but emerged a narrow victor over Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith.

As governor, O'Bannon was known for advocating for education-related issues and helping to create the state's AMBER Alert System.

He presided over a period of economic prosperity for the state in the 1990s and served a term as Chairman of Midwestern Governors Association.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in government in 1952, and a Juris Doctor in 1957 from the Indiana University School of Law.

He served one two-year stint as chair of the Senate Finance Committee following a short-lived Democratic majority.

[6] O'Bannon initially faced off against then-Secretary of State Evan Bayh and Kokomo Mayor Steve Daily.

His candidacy for lieutenant governor matched that of his grandfather, Lew M. O'Bannon, who was the 1924 Democratic nominee for the state's second-highest office.

He overcame an early deficit in the polls against his Republican opponent, Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith and won in a close race, 52% to 47%.

In 1999, O'Bannon created the Public Access Counselor Office by executive order after a statewide collaboration of seven newspapers found great obstacles in obtaining government information in Indiana.

[9][better source needed] In 2000 he won an easy re-election bid under the theme of Keeping Indiana Moving in the Right Direction.

[10] His campaign featured memorable advertisements with O'Bannon reprising his basketball past by shooting a perfect jump shot.

[2] O'Bannon attempted to install a stone monument featuring the Ten Commandments on the state capitol grounds.

O’Bannon's ashes were scattered in the family plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Corydon, Indiana.