Jan 16
VOC Announces the Passing of Dr. Lee Edwards
WASHINGTON— Dr. Lee Edwards, founding Chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, and recipient of its Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom died December 12, 2024, at home in Arlington, Virginia. Friends and supporters wanting to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Edwards are invited to do so by donating to the Lee and Anne Edwards Freedom Fund at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Dr. Elizabeth Spalding, the Chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundations and Founding Director of the Victims of Communism Museum, released the following statement on his passing:
Lee Edwards was a friend, mentor, and hero to many, including those who only know him through his works over the course of a life well lived. He was also a husband, father, and grandfather. He will be missed by all. But we rejoice that he is now at home with the Lord and is reunited with his beloved wife Anne. And we will all continue, and redouble our efforts, in the work that remains here for us.
Lee Edwards was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1932, to Leila and Willard Edwards. His father, the national political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, moved the family to Silver Spring, Maryland, where Lee was raised. He attended Duke University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English before serving two years in the U.S. Army.
As a graduate student at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Dr. Edwards witnessed Hungarian students in 1956 launch a revolution in the streets of Budapest that toppled the Communist regime. As Soviet tanks crushed the Freedom Fighters, he was appalled by the West’s lack of response and made a lifelong pledge to oppose communism.
Since then, Dr. Edwards has been a leader in the fight for freedom. He helped found Young Americans for Freedom in 1960 and was the first editor of YAF’s magazine, New Guard. He started or helped sustain key anti-Communist organizations, such as the National Captive Nations Committee, the Committee for a Free China, and the American Council for World Freedom.
Dr. Edwards served as director of public information for Senator Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign and ran a Washington, D.C. public relations firm before earning a doctorate in world politics from the Catholic University of America. He was the founding director of the TFAS Institute of Political Journalism at Georgetown University, a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a past president of the Philadelphia Society. He later served as Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at the Heritage Foundation and was an adjunct professor of politics at Catholic University. The Heritage Foundation instituted its annual Lee Edwards Lecture in Conservative Leadership in 2024.
Often called the historian of the conservative movement, Dr. Edwards was the author, co-author, or editor of over 25 books, including biographies of President Ronald Reagan, Goldwater, Dr. Walter Judd, and William F. Buckley, Jr. His works were translated into Chinese, Japanese, French, Hungarian, Polish, and Swedish. His most recent works included A Brief History of the Cold War (2016), with Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, and his autobiography, Just Right: A Life in Pursuit of Liberty (2017).
His various accolades included the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, the Millennium Star of Lithuania, the Cross of Terra Mariana of Estonia, the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy from the Republic of China (Taiwan), the John Ashbrook Award, the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award, the Legends of YAF Award from Young America’s Foundation, the Walter Judd Freedom Award, and the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom from VOC.
In 1990, while at Sunday brunch, the Edwards family resolved that an organization was needed to memorialize all the victims of communism around the world and to educate Americans about the atrocities of communism.
With authorization by unanimous congressional legislation signed into law by President Bill Clinton on December 17, 1993, Dr. Edwards and his dear friend Dr. Lev Dobriansky co-founded the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in 1994 as an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit organization devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million people killed by communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes. Years of commitment resulted in the Victims of Communism Memorial, which was erected on Capitol Hill and dedicated by President George W. Bush on June 12, 2007. Dr. Edwards’ vision eventually led to the Victims of Communism Museum, which opened in June 2022, and the development of numerous VOC educational programs and materials. Recently, the House of Representatives statutorily tasked the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation with expanding its student curriculum to teach about the evils of communism in classrooms nationwide.
Lee and Anne—his late wife of 57 years, best friend, editor, and senior counselor—are survived by two daughters and eleven grandchildren.
Friends and supporters wanting to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Edwards are invited to do so by donating to the Lee and Anne Edwards Freedom Fund at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
If one reviews history’s epic battles, one finds there are dreamers and doers, not that dreamers don’t do and doers don’t dream, but Lee Edwards conjoined them adroitly. His determination, thoughtfulness, and other lessons taught will be missed but most certainly not forgotten. When our backs are at the wall, he will be with us, his faith reinforcing our mission. He will be greatly missed, but his works will continue to surround us.
Randal Teague, Vice Chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
My dear friend Lee was a towering figure in the study and promotion of the conservative movement. Throughout his distinguished career, he authored or edited 25 books, deeply influencing both scholars and activists. His work helped shape the modern conservative movement, and his legacy will be defined by his immense contributions, his mentorship, and his unwavering dedication to the principles of freedom and liberty. Lee will be deeply missed by all those who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.
Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, Chairman Emeritus of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
There are people who come into one’s life, professionally or personally, who introduce elements of grace into one’s experience. So it was with Dr. Lee Edwards when I first met him a generation ago, when he graciously welcomed me into the conservative world of ideas.
Lee had a historian’s mind and sense of time. He was a man of faith, optimism, and humility. As a proud conservative, he understood, with Russell Kirk, that it is incumbent upon human beings to regenerate the spirit and character that underscore a well-ordered life. Lee cherished the opportunity and obligation to advance liberty and animated by these commitments, he led the clarion call to establish a permanent memorial to the victims of communism, liberty’s greatest nemesis. May the memory of Lee’s example of courage and perseverance always guide us.
Dr. Ingrid Gregg, Secretary, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Growing up, I would often hear my father speaking on the phone to a dear friend and professional colleague of his, Dr. Lee Edwards. My father adored Lee and viewed him as an “ideological soulmate.” Both were academics, authors and freedom fighters who were not only anti-communist but strong advocates of the universality of fundamental human rights. They collaborated together on so many worthy initiatives, including the National Captive Nations Committee, which my father established. Both were also outspoken leaders in the conservative movement.
Later in life, I had the privilege and honor of working with Lee on the Board of Trustees of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which he co-founded. His commitment to ensure that the horrors of communism would never be forgotten—was unparalleled. His vision of the creation of a museum to honor those who died under communism was fulfilled and has been visited by Presidents, Prime Ministers, among countless others. A recipient of the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom in 2022, Dr. Edwards’ life exemplified an unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy. His tireless efforts improved the lives of so many across the globe. He was truly a remarkable human being. I will miss him.
Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky. VOC Trustee and daughter of VOC co-founder Lev Dobriansky
With the passing of Dr. Lee Edwards, Freedom has lost one of it’s greatest champions and I have lost a friend. Lee Edwards was a giant in the Conservative movement and his devotion to memorializing the victims of communism as the founding chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation will impact generations. Karen Pence and I offer our deepest sympathies and prayers for his family, friends and all who admired this truly great American. God Bless Dr. Lee Edwards.
48th Vice President of the United States Mike Pence
Dr. Lee Edwards, preeminent historian of the conservative movement & founding Chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has died. I hope you will take a moment to read my recent tribute in the Congressional Record, and draw inspiration from his life and legacy.
U.S. Senator Mike Lee
I am grateful for Lee Edwards as a friend, counselor, and mentor. When I reflect on his vast contributions over the past seven decades, how he influenced others, it is his writing and thought leadership that stand out.
Lee Edwards was a writer’s writer and a reader’s writer. His prose was intelligent and conversational, witty as well as wise, lively yet mature. Writers appreciate his technique: attention to detail, intelligent organization, use of foreshadowing and other literary devices. Readers enjoy his energy, journalistic verve, and clear narrative voice.
But it is what he chose to write about that makes his corpus of two dozen books and countless articles timeless. Dr. Edwards was the foremost historian of the conservative movement for half a century. His accounts of Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and many others are vivid and dramatic because he was there, present and often contributing, whether at headquarters or on the campaign trail. He recorded, as only an insightful participant-observer can, the personalities, motivations, and currents of the evolving political landscape over a period of decades.
Dr. Edwards knew that ideas have consequences when they are institutionalized, so he often set his shoulder to the hard task of developing networks and organizations for thoughtful action. Among many other initiatives he was a co-founder of Young Americans for Freedom, the founding director of Georgetown University’s Institute on Political Journalism, and co-founder of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and Museum (VOC).
An enduring contribution is VOC, rooted in his love of liberty and opposition to the anti-human cruelty of communism. Whereas most observers of the conservative movement talk about a “three-legged stool” of social, economic, and national security conservatives, Dr. Edwards had a somewhat different analysis that emphasized the importance of anti-communism across such lines. He chronicled how communism is the enemy of all strands of conservatism: it is anti-faith and anti-family, it is anti-freedom and anti-markets, and it is a violent, revolutionary system contrary to American values and interests.
I will continue to benefit from Lee’s writings and am thankful for all that he has given us. Lee is in a better place, so I cannot mourn his passing upward after a life well-lived. Instead, I grieve the hole that is left in the hearts of those he leaves behind.
Dr. Eric Patterson, President and CEO, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
