Media Coverage Archive

Senator Lugar attended the Project Sapphire 20th anniversary program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Project Sapphire was a joint operation between the United States and Kazakhstan to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation through the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.

The United States needs to institutionalize a global agriculture and food security strategy across a broad swath of public and private interests.

Journalists write the so-called first draft of history. Some of us join the true historians, step back and reevaluate the early takes. With Howey Politics Indiana observing its 20th Anniversary this year, it was appropriate to take that step back, go through past editions and make some new assessments

INDIANAPOLIS -  Tuesday was an important day for the hundreds of women who have participated in the Lugar Leadership Series. It marked the 25th anniversary of the group setup by former Senator Richard Lugar 25 years ago with the goal of encouraging the participation of women in politics

“Americans,” said Lugar, who was the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, “have been shocked into action.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Former Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar expects President Obama to outline a response to the terror group ISIS tonight, but said that his “strategy is not likely to be complete.”

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) –- Former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, discusses President Obama’s strategy to combat Islamic State militants.

Senator Richard Lugar, former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1985 to 1987 and again from 2003 to 2007, has experience formulating U.S. policy on Europe, Russia and the Middle east going back to the mid 1980's. Is any chance of peace on the horizon in Eastern Europe or the Middle East? Today Sen. Lugar shares his expertise

WASHINGTON: Acknowledging Pakistan's vital importance to regional stability and US national security interests, former US Senator Richard Lugar has called for sustained American support for the South Asian country's efforts towards economic development and security

Former Senator Richard Lugar discusses whether nuclear nonproliferation cooperation with Russia is possible in the current diplomatic climate—and whether the world is in nuclear danger

Former senator Richard Lugar, one of the original architects of the US-Russia cooperation, predicted the work will now be far more haphazard — "a month-to-month deliberation at this point." He held out hope the cooperation could weather the storm over Ukraine. "I would hope so," Lugar said in an interview, “in terms of Russian security as well as world security.”

After former Sen. Richard Lugar left the Navy in 1960, he and his brother needed to find a way to save the family's small machine manufacturing business in Indianapolis from financial failure.The Lugars got a breakthrough when a Mexican company wanted to place a sizable order for machinery used to make cookies and other baked goods. An obscure federal agency, the Export-Import Bank, underwrote the contract, the first of many sales the company made in other countries.

Host John Krull in a one-on-one interview with former Indianapolis Mayor and US Senator Richard Lugar. Lugar discusses what it's like to be out of the Senate after serving for 36 years, the divisiveness in American politics, as well as hostilities on the world stage.

The Export-Import Bank must continue. The Ex-Im Bank helps to create new jobs, expand U.S. exports, and increase tax revenue paid by U.S. firms into the United States Treasury. It even makes a profit for the U.S. Treasury each year.

NASHVILLE, Ind. - In a part of the world where the news over the past several months has been dire bordering on terror and atrocities, the removal of weapons of mass destruction from Syria was hailed by former senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn on Monday.

Russia’s military conquest and economic manipulation in Ukraine has breathed new life into the smoldering transatlantic energy security conversation, marking the most critical chapter in an ongoing saga of price discrimination to European countries punctuated by occasional supply disruptions. Figuring out how to reduce dependency on Russian natural gas supplies naturally takes center stage in the discussion, but the task of enhancing security, affordability, and sustainability of energy involves much more than just supply.

The U.S. role in the removal and eventual destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons is being carried out under the umbrella of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program. Specifically, CTR funds were used to equip the Cape Ray vessel for its chemical weapons destruction mission and to operate the Cape Ray for the duration of the mission.“This was made possible by the 20-year history of cooperation that the program built between the United States and Russia on WMD threat reduction. That cooperation has expanded outside of the former Soviet Union and in Syria, we are acting as partners in removing an imminent threat.

Imagine the heightened fear of global disaster if Ukraine, torn by disorder and violence, had nuclear weapons. Well, once it did. In fact, two decades ago, Ukraine had the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world -- right behind the United States and Russia. One of the greatest successes of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was the negotiated dismantling of Ukraine's nuclear weaponry, all of it.

Far from being a competitive disadvantage, uniform mandatory reporting through the Cardin-Lugar Amendment (Section 1504 of Dodd-Frank) will help level the playing field for American companies. With the European Union joining U.S. transparency efforts, thousands of companies around the world, including major predominantly state-owned companies in China and Russia, will begin issuing mandatory disclosures soon.

Former Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar addressed the forum about his support for the initiative as well as the importance of biotechnology in reaching global food security goals

Former United States Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana serves on the Board of Advisors of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at MIIS and lent his name to the endowed Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Chair in Nonproliferation Studies at the Institute, currently occupied by CNS Director Dr. William Potter.“Senator Lugar has been a persistent advocate for nuclear nonproliferation throughout his long and distinguished career in public service,” added President Ramaswamy. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to honor him appropriately for his constant support of nonproliferation education at the Monterey Institute.”

Sen. Richard Lugar, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Nobel Peace Prize nominee spoke at the 33rd annual Max Rosenn Lecture April 27 at Wilkes University.

WILKES-BARRE — Against the backdrop of the powder keg of Ukraine and the potential ramifications for European allies, the problems in the United States seem a little less onerous from the viewpoint of former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar.

In 1986, Congress approved a law (The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act) imposing tough U.S. economic sanctions against South Africa. President Ronald Reagan opposed the measure and vetoed it. But days later, lawmakers overrode his veto. Former Republican Senator Richard Lugar supported the sanctions. He said, "This led the South African government, I believe, to reconsider its policies not immediately but certainly under the dint of the difficult sanctions that were there. And it led to the freedom of Nelson Mandela."

Former Sen. Richard Lugar, now a distinguished professor of Political Science and International Relations at UIndy, had a busy day on campus Tuesday. It included joining in Associate Professor Jyotika Saksena‘s class in International Political Economy and Associate Professor Milind Thakar‘s introductory IR class. In the afternoon, Lugar discussed and fielded student questions on the situation in Ukraine, moderated by Associate Professor of History Ted Frantz.

FRANKFORT — Former Sen. Richard Lugar Monday night offered a glimpse of his life experiences to government, school, utility and business leaders at Mayor Chris McBarnes’ fourth leadership summit in this Clinton County community.

With Russia’s controversial annexation of Crimea this week, The Star turned to international political expert and former longtime U.S. senator, Richard Lugar, to get his diplomatic take on the Ukraine situation.

As the crisis in Ukraine heats up, one former U.S. senator's longstanding warnings about reliance on Russia for energy supplies are gaining ground. European ambassadors recently met in Washington with Richard Lugar, one of America's foremost experts on Russia and Eastern Europe, to hear his insights on the region's current predicament. Program Host Bill Loveless will sit down with Lugar for an extended interview.

Lugar, 81, and Nunn, 75, were guests of the University of Indianapolis at a public event titled “Diplomacy in a Dangerous World.” Moderator Steve Inskeep, of National Public Radio, deftly guided them through a recounting of the origins of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program.

As the conflict plays out in the Ukraine – and American leaders, particularly those in Lugar’s party, speak out – it has become clear how much we miss Dick Lugar.

To the masses and even Hoosier Republican primary voters, Nunn-Lugar is boring. That’s because the “action” was nuanced and played out in obscure places deep in Siberia and in invisible Soviet cities that only appeared to the masses with the advent of Google Earth. Those attending a talk by Lugar and his Senate partner Sam Nunn — “Diplomacy in a Dangerous World,” moderated by NPR’s Steve Inskeep — Tuesday evening at the University of Indianapolis were able to witness and sense the depth of this achievement.

Lugar, 81, rejoined his disarmament ally, former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., for a talk Tuesday night at the University of Indianapolis. The pair ruminated on international threats past and future with moderator Steve Ins­keep of National Public Radio.

After the Olympics are over, Sochi will again take the world stage hosting the G8 Summit in June. Russia wants to focus on health issues and terrorism, but Syria, Iran and protests in the Ukraine could take over the discussions. Chuck Todd talks to former Sen. Richard Lugar about the topics that could make the G8 more tense for President Putin this time

NAPLES, Italy — When the breakup of the Soviet Union stranded thousands of nuclear warheads in unsecured sites across Russia and the former Soviet republics in 1991, Congress approved a $400 million emergency fund within the Pentagon to help dismantle and protect the loose arms. Two decades later, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, named for the two senators who pushed the original legislation, remains an active and widely celebrated disarmament and nonproliferation program within the Defense Department.

The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program continues to rid the world of dangerous weapons of mass destruction. On Monday, January 3, 2014, the New York Times confirmed that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, using $45 million from the Nunn-Lugar program, successfully destroyed the final vestiges of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi’s arsenal of chemical weapons. The Nunn-Lugar program is also heavily involved in the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, and technology pioneered by the Libya operation is now being used on the ground in Syria.

NEW HAVEN >> A year removed from the U.S. Senate, Richard Lugar told a Yale crowd Tuesday that political polarization is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future.

Lugar recounted Mandela telling lawmakers during a Washington visit that he was profoundly relieved to see action.“Mercifully, the Congress of the United States really was the force that saved me,” Lugar recalled Mandela saying.

WASHINGTON - The world has been blessed with an extended opportunity to celebrate the remarkable life of Nelson Mandela and the country he changed as political prisoner and president. It is hard to believe today, but 27 years ago, the U.S. could have ended up on the wrong side of history had Sen. Dick Lugar not led Republicans - against tremendous pressure from short-sighted conservatives within the Reagan White House – to override President Reagan’s veto of South Africa sanctions.

By the 1980s, with Mandela languishing in prison, a global movement to isolate the South African regime had become fully mobilized. A major question remained: What would the United States do? Speaking to Marian University’s global studies students just three days after Mandela’s death, former Sen. Richard Lugar shared his unique, inside perspective on the intense struggle to pass the U.S. economic sanctions bill that helped bring apartheid to an end.

Former U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar says the agreement hammered out between the United States and Iran over the weekend will give diplomacy a chance to work, a far better alternative than military strikes launched against the pariah nation by Israel or the U.S. Even so, the former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman said he shared "skepticism" over the actions of Iran.

WASHINGTON – Bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor on former Sen. Richard Lugar today, President Barack Obama praised the Indiana Republican for making the world safer, and for his decency and commitment to bipartisan problem solving.

INDIANAPOLIS - Just two days before the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a ceremony at the White House will honor the 50th anniversary of one of his last executive orders and a Hoosier stalwart will be front and center. Former Senator Richard Lugar will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A statement released by the White House quotes President Barack Obama in calling Lugar an "internationally respected statesman, best known for his bi-partisan leadership and decades-long commitment to reducing the threat of nuclear weapons." .

“Few government leaders have made as wide and positive an impact as Richard Lugar has for his home state and nation,” said Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. “In fact, ‘Government Leader of a Lifetime’ might well be a more appropriate designation.”

Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and Cook Group Chairman Steve Ferguson were honored with top awards Tuesday tonight at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 24th annual awards dinner. Lugar, who served six terms in the Senate, was named government leader of the year, and Ferguson was honored as business leader of the year.

Editor’s Note: Here’s how a “Leader of the Year” article normally works: The writer tells the story of the honoree, focusing on why the person is being recognized. Included is a sampling of quotes from others describing the winner’s impact. Without diminishing the accomplishments of any honorees, past or present, the 2013 Government Leader of the Year (who also earned the Chamber’s inaugural honor in 1990) is no typical award winner.

Mark Helmke is still campaigning for former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar. Lugar’s ex-aide wrote a letter to the committee in Norway that awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In it, Helmke argues that it was the work of Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn that paved the way for the prize winner.