Former Ind. Sen. Lugar, foreign policy expert, dies
WASHINGTON – Former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a foreign-policy leader in the Senate who received the nation’s highest civilian awards for his efforts to secure and destroy weapons of mass destruction after the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Sunday, according to his family.
Complications of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy was the cause of death.
“The world weeps alongside Indiana after just learning we lost one of our best, ever,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “He was an officer and gentleman, father and faith leader, a mayor and senator, a diplomat and legendary role model to millions.”
Vice President Mike Pence, who called Lugar a friend and mentor, said Lugar leaves behind a legacy of public service that will inspire Hoosiers for generations.
Lugar, 87, was mayor of Indianapolis from 1968 to 1975 and served in the Senate from 1977 to 2013.
He was president of the Lugar Center, a nonprofit he launched in 2013 to continue work on many of his policy priorities – finding solutions to energy security, world nutrition, effective governance, controlling weapons of mass destruction and other issues.
Lugar is survived by his wife, Char, and his four sons, Mark, Bob, John and David. Their families were with him throughout his short illness, according to a statement.
Few senators in history served longer than Lugar or earned as much respect.
“Dick Lugar’s decency, his commitment to bipartisan problem solving, stand as a model of what public service ought to be,” President Barack Obama said when awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.