INDIANAPOLIS — A ceremony drew leaders from around the country to Indianapolis Tuesday to pay tribute to an Indiana icon.
A statue of former Sen. Richard Lugar was unveiled in his hometown, commemorating the impact he made around the world.
"He truly put Indianapolis on the map, like it had never been before," said Mayor Joe Hogsett.
The monument, five years in the making, honors the legacy of one of the country's most influential politicians. Lugar got his political start as mayor Indianapolis from 1968 to 1976, working to get Hoosiers employed, before serving as a U.S. senator for 36 years.
He was even a candidate in the Republican primary for president in 1996.
Tuesday's unveiling brought together leaders who knew Lugar well, including former Vice President Mike Pence, who also served as Indiana's governor, and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
"My hearings went on for quite a long time," Rice said. "The patience that he showed as chair of Senate Foreign Relations, making sure that everyone was heard to the fullest."
Gov. Eric Holcomb and former President George W. Bush also sent messages to pay tribute to Lugar.
"He was a man that studied the issues deeply and he was a man who acted on what was best for the country, a principal senator," Bush said.
Lugar helped shape politics in Washington D.C. and is remembered for working to get everyone on both sides of the aisle working together for a common goal.
"Over time, a lot of people — Republican, Democrat, Black, white, all of the dualisms of the time — came together and said, 'We're going to build a great city,'" said the late Jim Morris, who served as Lugar's chief of staff when he was mayor of Indianapolis, in a video message played at the ceremony.
After the ceremony at Bicentennial Memorial Plaza, the statue was moved to its permanent home on Lugar Plaza on the south side of the City-County Building downtown.
City leaders hope Hoosiers will stop by and remember Lugar's impact.