April 28, 2019
Dr. William Potter and Senator Richard Lugar, June 2010
It is with deep sadness that I observe the passing of one of my heroes, Senator Richard Lugar. He will always be remembered as a visionary legislator, co-author with Sam Nunn of the monumental Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, and an unsurpassed Senate leader in the ratification of many of the most consequential arms control treaties.
Senator Lugar was perhaps the last of his kind—a senator who put his country ahead of politics and principle above partisanship. He was a paragon of integrity, and was always as attentive and kind to young students as to the most senior officials.
Although the Nobel Peace Prize, which he richly deserved, eluded him, no one did more to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction. He will be sorely missed by his friends and by the international community about which he cared so much.
Bill Potter
Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor of Nonproliferation Studies and
Director, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
