By ANN HINCH

Associate Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar, died April 28 at age 87, at the Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute in Falls Church, Va. He was Indiana’s longest-serving senator (1977-2013), as well as co-founder of Farmers for Free Trade (FFT).

His cause of death was complications from CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), according to a statement from the Lugar Center, the Washington, D.C., nonprofit bearing his name and of which he had been president since 2013.

Born in 1932, Lugar grew up on his parents’ Marion County, Ind., farm of about 600 acres and graduated valedictorian in 1950 from Indianapolis’ Shortridge High School, then top of his class from Denison University in Ohio in 1954. He attended Pembroke College in Oxford, United Kingdom, as a Rhodes Scholar where he earned a graduate degree in 1956. The next year, he volunteered for three years in the U.S. Navy.

Prior to two terms as mayor of Indianapolis (1968-75), he served for three years on the Indianapolis school board. He was also manager of his family farm for much of his adult life and helped run the family food-equipment business, Thomas L. Green Co. He served six terms in the U.S. Senate after a first failed bid for election in 1974.

Among other leadership positions in his six Senate terms, Lugar – a Republican – served as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1995-2001. A Sunday Washington Post obituary noted his history of pushing to reduce crop subsidies, “a position unusual for a farm-state legislator and unwelcomed by farming interests.”

In a 2002 interview in the Chicago Tribune, Lugar said he felt subsidies help small-scale farmers and sometimes make a difference to keep them in business, but he questioned their value in the long run. He sponsored the 1996 “Freedom to Farm” farm bill that eliminated some subsidies and regulations on growing crops.

"The problem is, those (lawmakers) who understand (the farm bill) understand it on behalf of their clients who are, by and large, wealthy farmers in America,” he said in the Tribune piece.

He also criticized other efforts he saw as detrimental to the business of agriculture. A 2010 Farm World article that covered Lugar’s visit to rural Indiana counties noted he questioned several EPA regulations that he worried would drive farming costs higher, including cap-and-trade policy, dust rules, provisions of the Clean Water Act, and what he saw as insufficient support for ethanol production, which he championed as the “only alternative energy (source) that we produce in any practical quantity.”

Lugar was widely regarded by fellow office-holders as well-studied and bipartisan, willing to work with political opponents on various issues. In 2012 his bid for a seventh Senate term ended with a Republican primary defeat to then-State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, partly on questions of Lugar’s state residency and partly on a campaign that Lugar was too liberal to represent his party. Mourdock was defeated in the general election by now-former Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly.

After the Senate, Lugar led the Lugar Center, self-described as “a platform for an informed debate on global issues,” including global food and energy security, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and enhancing bipartisan governance. The Post obituary noted among the center’s projects, it partnered with Georgetown University on the Bipartisan Index – a ranking of Congressional members by how often they cosponsor legislation with lawmakers of the opposition party.

In 2017, he partnered with former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to found FFT, another nonprofit. In an interview with Farm World that August, he said the purpose of FFT was to educate farmers on international trade and encourage them to contact their Congressional representatives to try to protect ag trade.

“I’ve seen data,” he explained. “At this point in our history, about 20 percent of income coming into American agriculture is coming in through trade,” which he said also impacts manufacturing jobs and transportation.

In a statement Sunday, Baucus said of his longtime colleague and friend, in part, “Dick Lugar leaves behind an unmatched legacy of bipartisan achievement on everything from nuclear nonproliferation to food and agriculture policy.

“Working with Dick over the last few years on Farmers for Free Trade has been a gift that’s only reinforced his dedication to the people of Indiana and rural America. At a time when trade policies that keep many farmers afloat have come under fire, Dick stood up with me to ensure their voices are being heard.”

Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron added, “Senator Lugar's intelligence and knowledge of the most important issues that impacted our nation, along with his thoughtfulness and diplomatic approach, came through in everything he did. His love for his family farm and understanding of agriculture issues made him a true friend and advocate for Hoosier farmers. He will be missed."

Lugar was the recipient of many honorary degrees, awards, and other laurels, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-President Obama and even an honorary British knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. He leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Charlene (Smeltzer), and sons Mark, Bob, John, and David and their families.

The Lugar Center statement noted his family “expresses their deepest thanks to (Inova Fairfax’s) Dr. Megan Terek and her staff for the exceptional and compassionate care they provided.” There were no funeral details available at press time.