Edwin J. Feulner Jr., founder of The Heritage Foundation and leader of the conservative movement, died Friday at age 83.
Mr. Feulner started the foundation in 1973. He served as its president from 1977 to 2013 and on an interim basis from 2017-18, leading one of the most influential think tanks in Washington.
He began his career in Washington as a public affairs fellow for the Center for Strategic Studies, now known as the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He was an assistant to Wisconsin Rep. Melvin Laird, who later became defense secretary, then worked as chief of staff to another Republican, Illinois Rep. Philip Crane.
Mr. Feulner was executive director of the Republican Study Committee before founding Heritage.
He was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989 by President Ronald Reagan for his work at the think tank.