Richard Lugar

Indiana Senator Richard G. Lugar, former two-time Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been one of the nation's leading voices on foreign affairs for the past 40 years. One of the most admired members of Congress, he is known for his judicious global perspective, reasoned bipartisan political leadership, and record of national security accomplishments.

A fifth generation Hoosier, he has distinguished his time in the Senate by his steadfast advocacy of U.S. leadership in the world, strong national security, arms control, free-trade, and economic growth. Throughout his six terms, he has helped guide U.S. foreign policy through the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet empire, and the War on Terror, and he has been a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons worldwide.

His defining legislative achievement was the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act. In 1991, he forged a bipartisan partnership with Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), to destroy these weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn-Lugar program has deactivated more than 7,500 nuclear warheads that were once aimed at the United States. Lugar and Nunn were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for this significant contribution to humankind.

With his 36-years of experience working alongside presidents, lawmakers, and dignitaries, Lugar leaves behind a legacy of foreign affairs and bipartisan statesmanship that offers audiences an invaluable veteran's viewpoint on national and international matters. Senate historian Don Ritchie puts it this way: "You would be hard pressed to find many senators who have been more influential on America foreign policy over the last quarter century than Senator Lugar."