The Honorable Senator Richard G. Lugar is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Indiana history. He’s currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former chair of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
 
A fifth generation Hoosier, Sen. Lugar graduated first in his class at both Shortridge High School and Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He attended Pembroke College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, studying politics, philosophy and economics. Before entering public life, he helped manage the family's food machinery manufacturing business in Indianapolis with his brother Tom.

He entered public service in 1964, being first elected to the IPS Board of School Commissioners, a seat he held until 1967. He stepped down to run for mayor of Indianapolis and served two terms. As mayor, he envisioned the merger of city and Marion County government into a single unified system. Uni-Gov, as his plan was called, consolidated many aspects of city-county government and helped set Indianapolis on a path of economic growth.

Sen. Lugar also has been a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. In 1991, he forged a bipartisan partnership with then-Senate Armed Services Chairman, Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), to disarm these weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn-Lugar program has deactivated more than 6,800 nuclear warheads that were once aimed at the United States. His work earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

During his career, he has received many awards, including the Guardian of Small Business, the Spirit of Enterprise, Watchdog of the Treasury, and 40 honorary degrees from colleges and universities in 14 states and the District of Columbia. He’s the fourth person ever named Outstanding Legislator by the American Political Science Association. And he’s long been an advocate for public education and public schools.