Edwin J. Feulner, co-founder and longtime president of The Heritage Foundation, died Friday at the age of 83, the organization announced.
No cause of death was disclosed in the statement. Feulner helped establish the Washington, D.C.-based think tank in 1973 and served as its president from 1977 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2018, becoming the organization’s longest-serving leader. He played a central role in transforming Heritage from a little-known policy shop into one of the most influential conservative think tanks in the country.
“Ed Feulner was more than a leader—he was a visionary, a builder, and a patriot of the highest order,” said Heritage President Kevin Roberts and Board of Trustees Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby in a joint statement. “His unwavering love of country and his determination to safeguard the principles that made America the freest, most prosperous nation in human history shaped every fiber of the conservative movement—and still do.”
Feulner co-authored the afterword to Heritage’s Project 2025, a set of policy recommendations for a potential second Trump administration. He also served on President Donald Trump’s transition team in 2016 and met with Trump alongside Roberts ahead of the 2024 election. (RELATED: Trump Distances Himself From Project 2025, Spearheaded By Top Member Of Conservative Think Tank)
Under Feulner’s leadership, Heritage helped shape the Reagan administration’s policy agenda and introduced a model of advocacy that integrated think tank research with real-time political strategy.
He authored nine books, worked as a congressional aide, and was active in several other conservative organizations. “Whether he was bringing together the various corners of the conservative movement or launching what is now the Heritage Strategy Forum, Ed championed a bold, ‘big-tent conservatism,’” the statement said.
Feulner is survived by his wife, Lina, their children, and grandchildren.
