[![Edward H. Crane](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/Ed%20Crane.jpg?itok=nd50ljgf)](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2021-01/edcrane.jpg) 

# Edward H. Crane 

Cofounder and President Emeritus

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Ed Crane was a cofounder and president emeritus of the Cato Institute. Under his leadership, the Cato Institute grew to become one of the nation’s most prominent public policy research organizations. He stepped down as president and CEO in October 2012.

Crane was a pioneer in framing the political debate as one not between liberal and conservative but between civil society (the voluntary sector) and political society (government power). He was at the forefront of promoting personal accounts in lieu of the current Social Security system and was one of the first national leaders of the term limits movement. Crane was the coeditor of several books, was the publisher of [*Regulation*](https://www.cato.org/regulation) magazine, served on the boards of U.S. Term Limits and the Institute for Free Speech, and was a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He was a chartered financial analyst and former vice president at Alliance Capital Management Corp. Crane’s writing was published in the *Wall Street Journal*, the *Washington Post*, the *New York Times*, and *Forbes*. He was interviewed on NPR’s *Morning Edition* and *Talk of the Nation*, C‑SPAN’s *Washington Journal*, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and other media.

Crane held a BS from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Crane passed away on February 10, 2026.

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[![Portrait of Ed Crane](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2026-02/Ed%20Crane-extended.jpg?itok=xKyByReE)](https://www.cato.org/edward-h-crane-1944-2026) 

##### In Memoriam 

### [Edward H. Crane, 1944–2026](https://www.cato.org/edward-h-crane-1944-2026)

Ed Crane was the cofounder and president emeritus of the Cato Institute. Under his leadership, the Cato Institute grew to become one of the nation’s most prominent public policy research organizations.

[Read Tributes from Former Colleagues](https://www.cato.org/edward-h-crane-1944-2026)