Edwin Feulner
Encyclopedia
Edwin John Feulner Jr. is President of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation
, a position he has held since 1977.
The mission of the Heritage Foundation is "to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
in a Roman Catholic family. His sister, Joanne, is a nun in the Order of St. Joseph (CSJ), based in Brentwood, New York
.
Feulner and his wife, Linda Claire Leventhal, live in Alexandria, Virginia
. They have two children, Edwin J. Feulner, III, and Mrs. Emily V. Lown.
before he graduated from Colorado's Regis University
with a bachelor's degree in English in 1963. After receiving an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1964, he attended Georgetown University
and the London School of Economics
. He then earned a doctorate degree at the University of Edinburgh
.
, then called the Center for Strategic Studies. He later became a congressional aide to congressman (and later Secretary of Defense) Melvin Laird. Feulner subsequently became a long-serving executive assistant to Illinois Republican congressman Phil Crane
. Prior to becoming President of Heritage, Feulner was Executive Director of the Republican Study Committee.
He is the former President and currently serves as the Treasurer of the Mont Pelerin Society
; he has served as Trustee and former Chairman of the Board of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute
; Member of the Board of the National Chamber Foundation; a Board Member of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques
; and member of the Board of Visitors of Regis, his undergraduate alma mater.
Among other executive and advisory roles, Feulner is the former President of The Philadelphia Society, and past Director of the Sequoia Bank, the Council for National Policy
, the Acton Institute and the American Council in Germany.
Feulner served as a member of the Gingrich
-Mitchell
Congressional U.N.
Reform Task Force (2005), Meltzer Commission from 1999-2000. He was the Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform, known as the Kemp Commission, from 1995-1996. He also was Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (1982–91), a consultant for domestic policy to President Reagan, and an adviser to several government departments and agencies.
, the second highest civilian award in the United States awarded by the President of the United States, by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan
. He is also past president and current Treasurer and Trustee of the Mont Pelerin Society
, a global economics society. Since 2006, Feulner has been a member of the Honorary Board of Trustees of Fundación Burke in Spain
.
In 2007 GQ magazine named Feulner one of the "50 most powerful people in D.C." The same year, Feulner was named one of the "100 most influential" American conservatives by the UK Telegraph
.
He speaks in the United States and abroad, has been awarded 11 honorary degrees and has received honors from the governments of Taiwan and South Korea.
Feulner is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
.
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, a position he has held since 1977.
The mission of the Heritage Foundation is "to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
Personal life
Feulner was born to Helen Joan Feulner and Edwin J. Feulner Sr., owner of a Chicago real estate firm, and grew up in Elmhurst, IllinoisElmhurst, Illinois
Elmhurst is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. The population is 46,013 as of the 2008 US Census population estimate.-History:...
in a Roman Catholic family. His sister, Joanne, is a nun in the Order of St. Joseph (CSJ), based in Brentwood, New York
Brentwood, New York
Brentwood is a hamlet of the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Brentwood is 53,917.The colony was established on March 21, 1851, on 750 acres of land on Long Island, New York, by Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews...
.
Feulner and his wife, Linda Claire Leventhal, live in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. They have two children, Edwin J. Feulner, III, and Mrs. Emily V. Lown.
Education
Feulner attended Immaculate Conception High School (Elmhurst, Illinois)Immaculate Conception High School (Elmhurst, Illinois)
Immaculate Conception High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Elmhurst, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. IC competes in the Suburban Christian Conference. The Boys athletic teams are nicknamed the "Knights", while the Girls teams are...
before he graduated from Colorado's Regis University
Regis University
Regis University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuit university in the United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
with a bachelor's degree in English in 1963. After receiving an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1964, he attended Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He then earned a doctorate degree at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Early career
Feulner began his Washington career as analyst for the Center for Strategic and International StudiesCenter for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
, then called the Center for Strategic Studies. He later became a congressional aide to congressman (and later Secretary of Defense) Melvin Laird. Feulner subsequently became a long-serving executive assistant to Illinois Republican congressman Phil Crane
Phil Crane
Philip Miller "Phil" Crane is a former American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 2005, representing the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago...
. Prior to becoming President of Heritage, Feulner was Executive Director of the Republican Study Committee.
Heritage Foundation
Feulner was a Founding Trustee of the Heritage Foundation from 1973 until 1977, when he left Crane's employ to run Heritage full-time. At the time, Heritage had had nine employees and four presidents in four years. Feulner brought a new focus to marketing Heritage's ideas by issuing and promoting policy papers. The practice was unusual for Washington think tanks in the 1970s, and it brought national attention to Heritage. As Feulner related to The Washington Examiner, "It doesn't do us any good to have great ideas if we are not out there peddling our products."He is the former President and currently serves as the Treasurer of the Mont Pelerin Society
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists , philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism...
; he has served as Trustee and former Chairman of the Board of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc., or ', is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1953 as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists...
; Member of the Board of the National Chamber Foundation; a Board Member of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
; and member of the Board of Visitors of Regis, his undergraduate alma mater.
Among other executive and advisory roles, Feulner is the former President of The Philadelphia Society, and past Director of the Sequoia Bank, the Council for National Policy
Council for National Policy
The Council for National Policy , is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States...
, the Acton Institute and the American Council in Germany.
Feulner served as a member of the Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
-Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
Congressional U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Reform Task Force (2005), Meltzer Commission from 1999-2000. He was the Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform, known as the Kemp Commission, from 1995-1996. He also was Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (1982–91), a consultant for domestic policy to President Reagan, and an adviser to several government departments and agencies.
Awards and distinctions
In 1989 he was awarded the Presidential Citizens MedalPresidential Citizens Medal
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded by the President of the United States, and may be given posthumously....
, the second highest civilian award in the United States awarded by the President of the United States, by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. He is also past president and current Treasurer and Trustee of the Mont Pelerin Society
Mont Pelerin Society
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international organization composed of economists , philosophers, historians, intellectuals, business leaders, and others who favour classical liberalism...
, a global economics society. Since 2006, Feulner has been a member of the Honorary Board of Trustees of Fundación Burke in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
In 2007 GQ magazine named Feulner one of the "50 most powerful people in D.C." The same year, Feulner was named one of the "100 most influential" American conservatives by the UK Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
.
He speaks in the United States and abroad, has been awarded 11 honorary degrees and has received honors from the governments of Taiwan and South Korea.
Feulner is a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust"...
.
External links
- Ed Feulner biography
- Publications by Ed Feulner
- Getting America Right Official website