Senator Richard Lugar Speaks at Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana Inaugural Lecture
Senator Richard Lugar, the longest serving U.S. Senator in Indiana history, was the inaugural speaker at UE's 2004-05 Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana's International Speaker Series August 17, 2004.
The lecture, "The Changing World Environment" was held in Shanklin Theatre.
Lugar is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a member and former chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 and won a fifth term in 2000, his third consecutive victory by a two-third majority.
Prior to his run for the Senate, Lugar served for two terms as the mayor of Indianapolis, where he created Unigov. Unigov combines the Indianapolis City Council and the Marion County Council to form the City-County Council. Lugar believed this move would set the city on a path of uninterrupted economic growth.
Lugar has been a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Through the bipartisan Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program created in 1991, more than 6,000 nuclear warheads have been deactivated. Following 9/11, Lugar crafted a document defining his vision for the U.S. direction in war for years to come. It states: "The United States will use all of its military, diplomatic and economic power – without question – to ensure that life threatening weapons of mass destruction everywhere are accounted, contained and hopefully destroyed. Additionally, the Lugar Doctrine asserts that the U.S. should encourage democratic institutions and decrease dependence on foreign energy sources."
On July 22, following the release of the 9/11 Commission Report, Lugar noted that the report is a useful historical document. "More importantly, the President, the Congress and all U.S. and international institutions engaged in the war on terror, must focus on the future. The Commission makes many recommendations – including expansion of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program – that will need to be considered, along with steps already taken since 9/11."
Lugar said the top priority is that all weapons and materials of mass destruction must be identified, continuously guarded and systematically destroyed, to keep them out of the hands of terrorists. "Additionally, the U.S. must strengthen our public diplomacy and build alliances. We must promote democracy and commerce, thus dampening the desperate economic conditions that frequently lead to political resentment in the developing world and create a climate conducive to terrorist philosophies," Lugar stated.
As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Lugar built bipartisan support for the 1996 federal farm program reforms, ending 1930’s era federal production controls. He has promoted broader risk management options for farmers, research advancements, increased export opportunities and higher net farm income. Lugar initiated a biofuels research program to help decrease U.S. dependency on foreign oil.
His work has been recognized numerous times with such awards as Guardian of Small Business, the Spirit of Enterprise, Watchdog of the Treasury and 38 honorary doctorate degrees from 13 states and the District of Columbia. He has also been named Outstanding Legislator by the American Political Science Association.
The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana, is funded through the Lilly Endowment Inc., with the purpose of instilling a global view in UE students, as well as an entrepreneurial vision with the business community to become a catalyst to transform southern Indiana into a hub of global business through research, education, training and networking.