Richard Lugar, In Memoriam

           Richard Lugar, the six-term Republican United States Senator from Indiana most known for his successful post-Cold War denuclearization efforts, died a month ago in Falls Church, Virginia at the age of 87. 

Born in Indianapolis in 1932, Lugar graduated from Denison University and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar before serving in the Navy as a Lieutenant and as an intelligence briefer during the Cold War.

First elected to public office in 1964 as a Indianapolis school board member, serving for three years, Lugar was then elected Mayor in 1968 and again in 1972, serving two full four-year terms.  During his tenure as Mayor, he was President of the National League of Cities in 1971. 

Lugar was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 1974, losing a close race to the incumbent Democrat.  He was then elected Senator for six consecutive terms, serving from 1977-2013, the longest in state history.  Lugar was pro-life, moderately conservative, pro-free trade and bipartisan, being able to get legislation passed or foreign policy implemented because of the wide respect he enjoyed.  He generally supported Cold War policies and those in support of the War on Terrorism, while advocating for human rights and liberty abroad.  Lugar’s 1991 legislation with Democratic Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia to eliminate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, particularly from the former Soviet Union was his greatest legislative accomplishment, among other anti-proliferation measures he supported.  The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program continues to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction.  He was defeated for renomination for a seventh term in 2012 by a Republican for not being conservative enough who then lost the general election to a Democrat. 

Lugar was not a Trumpist and criticized Donald Trump’s lack of civility in office.  By contrast, Lugar was known for his civility. He also joined with many other former Republican members of Congress in opposition to Trump’s abuse of his emergency powers.

May Lugar’s legacy remind Americans that although there are sharp ideological difference, U.S. foreign policy is a matter that ought to be above partisanship and that bipartisanship makes it possible to enact good legislation.