With Michael Ledeen Gone, the World Lost One of Its Great Minds

The world has lost a towering intellect, a fearless thinker, and a deeply principled man. Michael Ledeen’s passing on May 18 marks the end of an era in which ideas were not just debated but lived, tested, and acted upon.  

The list of problems Michael solved over his 83 years was impressive, but it pales in comparison to the list he could have tackled had he been granted more time. International, domestic, personal—Michael engaged with the world on every level, and he left it better than he found it. 

I first met Michael, Freedom Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, in 1993, shortly after I joined AEI. From the beginning, he stood out, not just for his brilliance, but for his generosity. He was a mentor to young scholars, a sounding board for seasoned experts, and a constant source of insight and encouragement. “Just because it’s in the newspaper doesn’t mean it’s true,” he told us. 

Every Friday, he joined AEI’s intellectual luminaries—Judge Robert Bork, Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Irving Kristol and Michael Novak—for lunchtime lectures that were as enlightening as they were wide-ranging. From Iran to Israel, China to Africa, and always Italy, Michael spoke with the authority of someone who had not only studied history but lived it.  

Subsequently Michael left AEI to join the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, keeping his title as Freedom Scholar. By then I was fortunate to be his neighbor. I would walk our dogs at night and see the light on in his converted attic study, where he worked away on topics ranging from Machiavelli and Tocqueville to terrorism and U.S. foreign policy. 

Michael wrote almost three dozen books. He was adamant about Iran’s role in funding terrorism around the globe, no matter how unpopular that view made him. Threats to his life meant that our neighborhood was regularly patrolled by police cars. His books on Iran include?“Debacle: The American Failure in Iran”;?“Perilous Statecraft: An Insider’s Account of the Iran-Contra Affair”;?“The War Against the Terror Masters”; and?“The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots’ Quest for Destruction.” 

It always seemed to me that Michael’s heart was in Italy. His history dissertation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison became the renowned book?“Universal Fascism: The Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936,” a foundational text in the study of Italian fascism. He later wrote?“The First Duce,” a study of Gabriele D’Annunzio, and collaborated with Italian historian Renzo De Felice on “The Jews in Fascist Italy: A History.” In 2014 he wrote “Virgil’s Golden Egg and Other Neapolitan Miracles,” about why Naples is a small-scale version of European history.  

Italy was more than a subject of study for Michael; it was a second home. It was there he met his priceless wife, Barbara, and together they immersed themselves in Italian life and culture. Both fluent in Italian, after returning to Washington, they made annual pilgrimages to Italy, often with friends and their three children.  

Three years ago, I had the privilege of accompanying Michael and Barbara to Sicily, where they donated a Torah—the Old Testament handwritten in Hebrew on parchment, the core of Jewish religious services—to the city of Catania so that Jews there could open a synagogue.  

It was a historic moment—the first Torah and the first synagogue established in Sicily since the expulsion of Jews in 1492. Michael’s passion for Jewish history and identity was not academic alone; it was deeply personal. He worked closely with the small but determined Jewish community of Catania, helping them acquire the building for the synagogue, and laying the foundation for a spiritual and cultural rebirth. 

“The Jewish community which is being reborn in Catania is a beautiful development,” Michael said. “We are privileged and grateful to have had the opportunity to help make the dream real. The community is resolved to continue building the Jewish infrastructure here.” 

Michael’s influence extended beyond the public sphere into the personal lives of those who knew him. He was godfather to my youngest son, Richard, and took that role seriously.  

Michael encouraged Richard’s entrepreneurial spirit, even when it took unconventional forms such as acquiring a collection of BB guns to protect our garden from squirrels and deer or opening a bicycle wheel factory. “Richard is perfect,” he said with a smile. That was Michael: supportive, unflappable, and always ready to champion the people he cared about. 

Michael Ledeen was scholar, strategist, champion bridge player, cigar smoker, storyteller, and friend. He leaves behind a legacy of intellectual courage, moral clarity, and boundless curiosity, with the constant request to move “faster, please.” The world is poorer for his absence—but infinitely richer for his presence.

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