Edward Harrison Crane (August 15, 1944 – February 10, 2026) was an Americanlibertarian activist who co-founded theCato Institute, serving as the organization's president until October 2012.^[1]

In the 1970s, Crane was one of the most active leaders within theLibertarian Party.^[2] He directed the party as its national chair from 1974 to 1977,^[3] worked onJohn Hospers's presidential bid and managedEd Clark's 1978campaign forGovernor of California. In 1980, Crane served as communications director to the Libertarian Party presidential ticket of Clark and vice presidential candidateDavid H. Koch.^[4] Prior to founding the Cato Institute, Crane was a chartered financial analyst and vice president of Alliance Capital in California.

Crane was member of the board of various political organizations, includingAmericans for Limited Government, a group that assists grassroots efforts throughout the country, and theInstitute for Free Speech. He was also a member of theMont Pelerin Society.

In 1977, with funding fromCharles Koch, Crane established theCato Institute, alibertarianthink tank.

While at Cato, Crane expanded the organization from a staff of 10 and a budget of $800,000 when it first opened in San Francisco to a staff of 127 and a budget of $21 million in a newly renovated building in Washington, D.C.^[5]

In 2012, ashareholder dispute arose between Crane and Charles and David Koch. Crane accused the Kochs of trying to take control of the organization. The Kochs contended that the shares of deceased shareholderWilliam Niskanen should have been offered to the institute first, and not passed to his widow. Crane later said that he spoke toNew Yorker journalistJane Meyer, whose reporting indicated the conflict was also about the ideological direction of the institute.^[6][7] As part of the dispute settlement, the Cato shareholder agreement was dissolved and Crane agreed to retire.^[8]

In 2013, Crane launched Purple PAC, a super PAC that supports candidates and causes consistent with the libertarian platform.^[9]

In 2018, several former Cato employees alleged longtimesexual harassment by Crane, andPolitico reported that he settled one such claim in 2012. Crane denied the allegations.^[10]

Crane was politicallylibertarian. He described the core principles of libertarianism as being personal liberty,free markets, and limited government.^[11]

In 2012, Crane was supportive of then-presidential candidateRon Paul on issues such as tax and spending cuts, support for anon-interventionist foreign policy, protections forcivil liberties, and the promotion ofAustrian economics. At the time, Crane wrote, "The 21st century is likely to be a libertarian century. It is why the focus should be on Ron Paul's philosophy and his policy proposals in 2012."^[12]

In 2016, Crane supported presidential candidateRand Paul. It was reported that Crane had stopped raising money for the Purple PAC that was supporting Paul; but Crane stated that the PAC was still operating and it was not shutting down.^[13] He stated, "I'm still 'standing with Rand,' as they say, and there's no one else I can think of supporting."^[14]

Crane died on February 10, 2026, at the age of 81.^[15]

• Cato Institute – Edward Crane bio
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1944 births
• 2026 deaths
• Activists from California
• American founders
• California Libertarians
• Cato Institute people
• Libertarian National Committee chairs
• Monetary reformers
• CFA charterholders
• Marshall School of Business alumni
• University of California, Berkeley alumni

• Articles with short description
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• People appearing on C-SPAN