WASHINGTON, D.C. — Edwin J. Feulner, a towering figure in the modern American conservative movement and co-founder of the influential Heritage Foundation, has died at the age of 83. The think tank confirmed his passing on Friday but did not disclose a cause of death.
Feulner led the Heritage Foundation for more than three decades, shaping it from a modest policy shop into one of Washington’s most powerful conservative institutions. Serving as president from 1977 to 2013, and briefly again from 2017 to 2018, he championed a bold, ideas-driven conservatism that helped set the policy agenda for Republican leaders from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.
“Ed Feulner was more than a leader—he was a visionary, a builder, and a patriot of the highest order,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts and Board Chair Barb Van Andel-Gaby said in a joint statement. “His love for country and commitment to founding principles helped shape a conservative movement that endures to this day.”
Feulner’s legacy includes the development of the Heritage model — delivering ready-to-enact policies to newly elected administrations. Under his guidance, the organization’s research directly influenced Reagan-era tax reforms and deregulation efforts. In recent years, he remained active in shaping future conservative agendas, co-authoring the afterword of Project 2025, a strategic blueprint for a potential second Trump administration.
An author, strategist, and unifying force, Feulner was also deeply committed to building what he called “big-tent conservatism.” He believed strongly in movement-building, often emphasizing collaboration over conflict. “You win through multiplication and addition, not through division and subtraction,” he often said — a phrase affectionately remembered by colleagues as a quintessential “Feulnerism.”
Feulner’s influence extended beyond policy. He mentored a generation of conservative leaders and maintained close relationships with lawmakers and presidents alike. He also served on Donald Trump’s 2016 transition team and continued to advise on policy matters in the years that followed.
Born in Chicago in 1941, Feulner held degrees from Regis University, the Wharton School, and the University of Edinburgh. Before founding Heritage in 1973, he worked as a congressional aide and became active in several conservative intellectual circles, including the Philadelphia Society.
He is survived by his wife, Lina, their children, and grandchildren.
The Heritage Foundation has vowed to carry on his mission “with courage, integrity, and determination.”
“In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats,” Feulner once said — a reminder of the persistence and purpose that defined his life’s work.
