WASHINGTON—Today, The Heritage Foundation welcomed William P. Ruger as a Distinguished Fellow, strengthening the team of conservative scholars, policy experts, and strategic thinkers working to help usher in America’s Golden Age.
Ruger brings to Heritage a rare combination of service, scholarship, and leadership from across the military, academia, public policy, and the intelligence community. His career includes service as a U.S. Navy Reserve officer and Afghanistan War veteran, professor of political science, president of the American Institute for Economic Research, and senior intelligence official responsible for the National Intelligence Council and the President’s Daily Brief.
Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action, welcomed Mr. Ruger by saying:
“Will’s extensive experience across a wide range of policy areas makes him a tremendous addition to what is already the best team of scholars and policy experts in the business! His expertise will strengthen our policy work and help expand the reach and influence of Heritage’s ideas in Washington and state legislatures across the country."
Derrick Morgan, executive vice president of The Heritage Foundation, remarked:
“Will Ruger’s experience in uniform, teaching the next generation, leading a respected free-market think tank, and preparing the President’s Daily Brief will inform his work at Heritage to help develop thoughtful, serious, and ultimately unified policy solutions. We are thrilled to welcome him as a Distinguished Fellow.”
In his role at Heritage, Ruger will contribute to policy work, bringing the perspective of a scholar-practitioner. His appointment reflects Heritage’s continued commitment to assembling the strongest team in the conservative movement.
“I’m excited to join the great team at Heritage at such an important juncture in the history of our country,” Ruger noted. “If America is to remain the greatest nation in the world, conservative ideas and values must win the future just as they have shaped our past, and I look forward to helping Heritage harness them creatively and thoughtfully to meet the many challenges our country faces ahead.”
Before joining Heritage, Ruger served as Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Mission Integration, where he helped lead collaborative integration across the intelligence community and supported intelligence products for senior policymakers. He previously served as president of the American Institute for Economic Research, vice president for research and policy at the Charles Koch Institute, and vice president for foreign policy at Stand Together.
In 2020, Ruger was nominated by President Trump for the position of United States Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He was appointed by the president to the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board at the U.S. Department of State in 2020, serving from 2020 to 2023.
Ruger was an associate professor of political science at Texas State University and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs. He earned his Ph.D. in politics from Brandeis University and his A.B. from the College of William and Mary. His scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals, and he is the author of Milton Friedman and co-author of Freedom in the 50 States.
