Richard Lugar

Who is Richard Lugar?

Richard "Dick" Green Lugar, KBE, is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a United States Senator, representing Indiana from 1977 to 2013.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lugar is a graduate of Denison University and Oxford University. He served on the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners from 1964 to 1967 before he was elected to two terms as Mayor of Indianapolis, serving from 1968 to 1976. During his tenure as Mayor, Lugar served as the President of the National League of Cities in 1971 and gave the keynote address at the 1972 Republican National Convention.

In 1974, Lugar ran a failed campaign for the U.S. Senate, losing to incumbent Democratic senator Birch Bayh. He ran again in 1976, defeating Democratic incumbent Vance Hartke. Lugar was reelected in 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000 and 2006. In 2012, Lugar was defeated in a primary challenge by Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, ending his 36-year tenure in the U.S. Senate. Mourdock went on to lose the general election to Democrat Joe Donnelly. Lugar ran for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1996 but did not win any primaries or caucuses.