The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2019 67 Richard Lugar, 87, a six-term Republican senator from Indiana, died on April 28 in Falls Church, Va., of com- plications from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Born on April 4, 1932, in Indianapo- lis, Ind., he was the oldest of three chil- dren. An Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, Mr. graduated first in his class at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis and then at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. In 1954 he went on to Pembroke College, Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar, where he received an honors degree in poli- tics, philosophy and economics. Mr. Lugar volunteered for the U.S. Navy in 1956 and served as a naval officer from 1957 until 1960, ultimately assigned as the intelligence briefer for Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations. Returning home to run the family business with his brother, he would soon pursue life as a public servant and statesman. Elected to the Indianapolis school board in 1963, he became mayor of Indianapolis in 1967. After two terms in office, however, his career shifted from local government to the national stage when he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1976. During 37 years in public service, Senator Lugar became one of his party’s most thoughtful and active leaders in the realm of foreign policy and national security. He twice chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—from 1985 to 1987 and from 2003 to 2007— and was the SFRC’s ranking Republican from 2007 until 2013. Senator Lugar’s most notable initia- tive came in 1991 when he teamed with Senator SamNunn (D-Ga.) on the Nunn-Lugar CooperativeThreat Reduction Program. Adopted with strong bipartisan support, the program safeguarded and dismantled weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union and fostered a broad range of nonproliferation activities. Also a prominent advocate for democracy, Senator Lugar led the effort to fight tyranny in South Africa by securing passage of the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, earning the praise of Nelson Mandela. For his enormous contributions to American foreign policy and his consistent support for both the practice and practitioners of diplomacy, AFSA conferred its highest honor, the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award, on Senator Lugar in 2005. “Public diplomacy, private diplo- macy and good Foreign Service work make the big difference for the United States and the world every day,” Senator Lugar told the Foreign Service Journal (June 2005) in a wide-ranging interview in connection with the award. “Our country depends on the For- eign Service to temper a world that is often uncertain and dangerous. We take for granted that Foreign Service officers will venture into hostile circumstances to advance U.S. interests, often with far less protection than corresponding military units,” he said on receiving the award. “Many Foreign Service officers have given their lives in service to their coun- try,” Lugar continued. “Innumerable others have made the deep personal sacrifices of being away from their fami- lies, of risking their health in difficult posts, and of forgoing more lucrative financial opportunities in other fields. Rarely are these sacrifices celebrated or even understood by casual observers.” AFSA honored Senator Lugar again, in November 2012, as he completed his Senate career. At a luncheon at AFSA headquarters, the association’s Govern- ing Board presented himwith a plaque in appreciation for his steadfast support of the Foreign Service and for biparti- sanship in U.S. foreign policy. On leaving Congress in 2013, he establishedThe Lugar Center, a non- profit public policy institute in Wash- ington, D.C. The center’s work to carry on his legacy is focused in four areas: global food security, WMD nonprolif- eration, foreign aid effectiveness and bipartisan governance. Senator Lugar received numerous awards and accolades for his exten- sive public service, among them the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding in 2016. Senator Lugar was a true friend to the U.S. Foreign Service, and he will be missed. He set an example by work- ing across the aisle for the good of the nation. Few others have done so much for the United States in the realm of for- eign policy and national security. n Richard Lugar, Diplomacy’s Champion u An Appreciation u Senator Lugar (center) receiving AFSA’s highest award from AFSA President John Limbert (left) and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in June 2005.