Edwin J. Feulner Jr., founder of The Heritage Foundation and a longtime leader of the conservative movement, died Friday. He was 83 years old.
Heritage announced Feulner’s death in a statement released by President Kevin Roberts and Board Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby. They praised Feulner as “more than a leader—he was a visionary, a builder, and a patriot of the highest order.”
Feulner founded Heritage in 1973 and became its president four years later. Over the course of his 37-year tenure, he transformed the small Capitol Hill policy shop into a powerhouse of policy ideas. During Feulner’s presidency, The New York Times described Heritage as “the Parthenon of the conservative metropolis.”
Roberts and Van Andel-Gaby credited Feulner for “planting a flag for Truth in a town too often seduced by power.”
“What started as a small outpost for conservative ideas became—under Ed’s tireless leadership—the intellectual arsenal for the Reagan Revolution and the modern conservative movement,” they added. “In the four decades that followed, Ed’s foresight, discipline, and moral clarity made Heritage a battleship, unshaken by political winds and focused solely on fighting for the American people.”
Born Aug. 12, 1941, in Chicago, Feulner discovered his conservative calling at a young age after reading Barry Goldwater’s “The Conscience of a Conservative” and Russell Kirk’s “The Conservative Mind.” Those books shaped both his thinking and the trajectory of his life’s work.
After graduating from Regis University with double majors in English and business, Feulner earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1964. He later attended Georgetown University and the London School of Economics, eventually receiving a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 1981.
Feulner spent time at both the Center for Strategic Studies and Hoover Institution at Stanford University before heading to Capitol Hill in Washington. He served as a confidential assistant to Rep. Melvin Laird of Wisconsin, who later became defense secretary. He later worked as chief of staff to Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois and as executive director of the Republican Study Committee.
During his time working in Congress, Feulner saw a need for an innovative conservative policy organization in Washington, which led to the creation of Heritage in 1973. Working alongside Heritage leaders Phil Truluck and John von Kannon, the organization quickly made its mark—producing timely policy reports for lawmakers, then publishing the comprehensive “Mandate for Leadership,” a transformative policy book that shaped President Ronald Reagan’s administration in 1981 and beyond.
In 1989, Reagan recognized Feulner’s contributions to the conservative movement by awarding him the Presidential Citizens Medal.
Throughout his career, Feulner championed “big-tent conservatism,” using Heritage’s influence to convene the conservative movement. One of his favorite sayings was “You win through multiplication and addition, not through division and subtraction.”
Feulner’s influence extended beyond Heritage through his work with numerous conservative organizations and leaders.
“Ed didn’t just transform think tankery—he revolutionized how ideas reach policymakers and change the world,” State Policy Network CEO Lawson Bader said. “His mentorship taught me that true leadership means building institutions that outlast you, developing people who surpass you, and maintaining unwavering principles while adapting methods to maximize impact.”
Several members of Congress, including past leaders of the Republican Study Committee, praised Feulner for his leadership.
“As the founder of [RSC] and longtime president of the Heritage Foundation, Ed Feulner was one of the architects who built the conservative movement in this country,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote on X. “I was fortunate enough to get to know Ed when I was RSC Chairman, and all of our Members benefitted from his wisdom and care for the organization. His legacy will have a lasting impact on our country, and my prayers are with his family as we all mourn his loss.”
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, added, “God bless Dr. Feulner’s family, as well as his vast Heritage family across the decades, and may this giant of the conservative movement rest in peace. In a time when freedom fighters in Washington were almost extinct, he laid a foundation upon which countless American victories stand today.”
Feulner authored nine books, including “The American Spirit,” “Getting America Right,” and “Leadership for America.” He also served as publisher of Heritage’s Policy Review magazine and co-founder and chairman of the website Townhall.com.
Former colleagues, many of whom still populate the Heritage building on Massachusetts Avenue, often share his memorable “Feulnerisms,” such as “people are policy” and “In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats.”
Bridgett Wagner, his longtime colleague who serves as executive director of Heritage’s Edwin J. Feulner Institute, called him “a giant” whose “wisdom, guidance, eternal optimism, and confidence in our cause inspired countless individuals, built enduring institutions, and shaped the conservative movement profoundly.”
After stepping down as president, Feulner continued serving on Heritage’s Board of Trustees, offering what Roberts and Van Andel-Gaby described as “encouragement and sage advice in equal measure.”
They said Heritage would honor Feulner’s legacy “by carrying his mission forward with courage, integrity, and determination,” remembering his favorite charge: “Onward. Always.”
Feulner is survived by his wife, Linda, their children, and grandchildren.