Born in Indianapolis on April 4th of 1932 Richard Green Lugar was the oldest of 3. Lugar finished high school and University with flying colors. While enrolled at Denison University he shared presidency of the student government in Ohio, with Charlene Smetzer, who would become his wife at a later stage in his life. After attending Oxford University, in 1954 he obtained honorary degrees in politics, philosophy and economics. In total the former Phi Beta Kappa member obtained 40 of them from several different states.
After his time at Oxford, Lugar moved to the London based United States Embassy, after which he enrolled in the US Navy voluntary in the year 1956. In 1957 he started out as a mere officer, but would eventually end up serving as the intelligence briefer under the chief of Naval Operations. Lugar left the army in 1960 and headed back to Indianapolis in order to manage the family business with his brother.
In 1963 he got elected for the local School Board where he advocated desegregation for public educational facilities and organizations. Lugar became the Mayor of Indianapolis in 1967 and served two full terms. He was the visionary for bringing Indianapolis, Marion County under one government, which was referred to as Unigov. He was elected and served one full term in the capacity of President of the National League of Cities in 1971. Currently Lugar is the only Senator with mayor and school board member experience.
Lugar achieved nationwide respect for being a visionary leader on the subject of national security, which is mostly because of his threat reduction program, after the downfall of the USSR in 1991. He was one of the few who recognized the risks presented by the Russian Nuclear and other weapons arsenal and developed a daring program, in order to dismantle the Soviet arsenal, working with the Russians. He devised the program cooperating with Senator Sam Nunn from Georgia.
The program proved to be very successful and many weapons of mass destruction have been dismantled because of it since its conception. Between the years 2000 to 2005, both Senators received numerous Nobel Prize nominations.
Between 1985 and 1986 Lugar worked as chairman for the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate, and was a key figure in advocating democracy worldwide. His role in getting Corazon Aquino elected despite massive corruption during the elections of the Philippines in 1986, in the capacity of head of the US observation team, resulting in President Ronald Reagan backing her, gained him much recognition. He also played a central part in the passing of the Anti-Apartheid Act of that same year.
Lugar has always been involved in agriculture since he was a boy, working at the family farm. To this day he still manages it and grows corn amongst many other products.
From 1995 to 2001 he worked as the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where he was responsible for passing the farm bill of 1996. Realizing the need for it, Lugar constantly explored means to expand on export opportunities.
Besides his work in agriculture and foreign policies he is the author of many legislative works and author of many laws.
Lugar has been the host and driving force behind the yearly "Lugar Symposium", bringing two juniors from each local high school in Indiana together for a day of debate and research of current events. To date more than ten thousand students have participated during one of these symposiums.
Besides the Lugar symposium, he is the host for other yearly events and the founder of the Fund for Hoosier Excellence, which he founded using private means and resources. He has played key roles in many events and continues to do so to this day.
Having been an active Republican all his life he appeared as the key speaker of the party's National convention in 1972 and also served in the Senate in the capacity of Assistant Republican Whip. In 1980 he was listed on the vice presidential list of the Reagan administration.
Lugar made an attempt to run for president for the Republicans in 1996, and still works closely with the current republican leaders, promoting their agenda worldwide.
