A brilliant Patriot and friend, Edwin John Feulner Jr., departed for higher ground last Friday.
Ed founded The Heritage Foundation in 1973, and it quickly became the nation’s premier conservative think tank. He was the intellectual North Star of the modern conservative revolution that gave rise to Ronald Reagan and continuity to his agenda. President Reagan awarded him the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989.
From its start under his leadership, and that of Paul Weyrich and Joseph Coors, Heritage was not only the primary institutional policy advisor for President Reagan, but has been that for Republican presidents and key conservative members of Congress ever since. Ed was at Heritage for 40 years, serving as president from 1977 to 2013 and briefly returning in that interim capacity from 2017-18.
Despite his success and that of Heritage, Ed was humble and always interested in giving other organizations a hand, knowing that successfully defending American Liberty required a unified frontline against the Democrat Party and its progressively leftist cadres. In a market today of increasingly egocentric, personality-driven conservative media platforms, Ed was never predisposed to protect his turf.
In 1996, when we launched The Patriot Post, we did so with Ed’s sage advice in combination with that from another conservative protagonist, William F. Buckley (National Review, Emeritus) — which is a major reason our First Amendment exercise is now the longest-running news and policy digest on the Web. In no small measure, our outreach to today’s grassroots American Patriots remains heavily influenced by the erudite perspective of those two men, and in the years since, by the guidance of our outstanding National Advisory Committee.
Ed was very instrumental in the formulation of our Mission and Objective: advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense, and traditional American values. He helped craft our First Principles mission statement.
Our mission and objectives rest on the foundation of this essential affirmation: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…” In the years since, we have become the Journal of Record for the modern American revolution, taking our name and inspiration from the original American Revolution led by George Washington and our Patriot Founders.
Ed was a longtime financial supporter of our publication, and his early endorsement was greatly appreciated: “The best Websites wield remarkable influence in the marketplace of ideas. The Patriot Post is a ‘must read’ for informed conservatives.”
I first met Ed a decade before our launch, when working with the Reagan administration. He towered above others in that era as a political scientist, and his mastery of domestic and foreign policy matters seemed innate. He had a Wharton MBA and PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where his doctoral thesis was The Evolution of the Republican Study Committee. He began his career with the esteemed Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was also a fellow at Georgetown University, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the London School of Economics.
Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts offered this most fitting tribute to his years at Heritage and his legacy:
Ed Feulner was more than a leader — he was a visionary, a builder, and a patriot of the highest order. 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. [He] planted 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. 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.
Whether he was bringing together the various corners of the conservative movement at meetings of the Philadelphia Society, or launching what is now the Heritage Strategy Forum, Ed championed a bold, “big-tent conservatism.” He believed in addition, not subtraction. Unity, not uniformity. One of his favorite mantras was “You win through multiplication and addition, not through division and subtraction.” His legacy is not just the institution he built, but the movement he helped grow — a movement rooted in faith, family, freedom, and the founding.
His “Feulnerisms” still resonate in the halls of Heritage — where they will always be remembered. “People are policy,” for instance — the heartbeat of his mission — to equip, encourage, and elevate a new generation of conservative leaders, not just in Washington, but across this great country.
And it was in precisely that spirit that he helped The Patriot Post get underway, and stay underway, steady and true to our mission.
Roberts continued:
And we still remember his adjuration to never be complacent or discouraged: “In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats.” Ed himself seemed immune to discouragement. Every day was, for him, a new opportunity to strike a blow for freedom, to further the promise of America and make it a reality for all. His was a life of joyful defiance in the face of tyranny and bureaucratic decay — a life defined by courage, conviction, and the word he signed off with every single day: Onward! … Thank you for showing us what one faithful, fearless man can do when he refuses to cede ground in the fight for self-governance.
Ed’s longtime Heritage colleague, conservative leader Bridgett Wagner, who is now the executive director of the Edwin J. Feulner Institute at Heritage, said of her friend: “His wisdom, guidance, eternal optimism, and confidence in our cause inspired countless individuals, built enduring institutions, and shaped the conservative movement profoundly. Rest in peace, EJF.”
Ed was unwavering in his pursuit of Liberty because at his core, he was a devout Christian.
It is with a heart of gratitude that we say farewell, as we carry forward the legacy of his life’s work — tirelessly and fearlessly supporting and defending Liberty for this and the next generation.
God bless you, Ed. Please join us in prayer for his wife Linda, their children, and grandchildren through his absence.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
