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. As of January 2023, he remains the most recent United States Governor to have died in office. O'Bannon was a native of Corydon, Indiana. He graduated from Corydon High School (now Corydon Central High School) in 1948 and then Indiana University, where he met his wife Judy. In Corydon, he served as a practicing attorney and a newspaper publisher for The Corydon Democrat before his entrance into the political arena. A Democrat, O'Bannon was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 1969. He eventually became one of the body's most prominent members. O'Bannon ran for Governor of Indiana in 1988; however, instead of facing a hotly competitive primary, O'Bannon dropped out of the race and became the running mate of Evan Bayh. The Bayh/O'Bannon ticket was successful, and O'Bannon served in the role of lieutenant governor for eight years. In this position, he served as President of the State Senate and directed the state's agriculture and commerce programs. With Bayh ineligible to seek a third consecutive term as governor in 1996, O'Bannon ran for governor that year. He was initially considered a heavy underdog but emerged a narrow victor over Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. He was re-elected in 2000, defeating Congressman David M. McIntosh. 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. O'Bannon died in office in 2003 and was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Joe E. Kernan. He is the most recent governor of any U.S. state to die in office. As of 2022, he is also the most recent Democrat to be elected governor of Indiana. Background O'Bannon was a native of Corydon, Indiana (the first state capital of Indiana), where his family owned the Corydon Democrat, the town's newspaper. His father, Robert Presley O'Bannon, served in the Indiana House of Representatives and later served in the Indiana Senate. His mother was the former Faith Dropsey. Frank was also the great-grandson of Presley Neville O'Bannon, a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps who was the first to raise the US flag on foreign