USA Today reports:
Former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a foreign policy leader in the Senate who received the nation’s highest civilian awards for his efforts to secure and destroy weapons of mass destruction after the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Sunday, according to his family.
The cause of death was complications from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Vice President Mike Pence, who called Lugar a friend an mentor, said he leaves behind a legacy of public service that will inspire Hoosiers for generations.
Lugar, 87, served as mayor of Indianapolis from 1968 to 1975 and served in the Senate from 1977 to 2013. When he sought a seventh term in 2012, Lugar was defeated in the primary by a Tea Party Republican. At the time, he was the Senate’s most senior Republican.
Like most Republicans, Lugar consistently opposed LGBT rights, voting for a federal ban on same-sex marriage and against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He did vote for the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act.