About Us
The unifying purpose of NED's work is "to create a community of democrats, drawn from the most developed democracies and the most repressive autocracies as well as everything in between, and united by the belief that the common interest is served by the gradual expansion of systems based on freedom, self government, and the rule of law."

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. The Endowment is governed by an independent, nonpartisan board of directors. With its annual congressional appropriation, it makes hundreds of grants each year to support prodemocracy groups in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union.

The Endowment is guided by the belief that freedom is a universal human aspiration that can be realized through the development of democratic institutions, procedures, and values. Democracy cannot be achieved through a single election and need not be based upon the model of the United States or any other particular country. Rather, it evolves according to the needs and traditions of diverse political cultures. By supporting this process, the Endowment helps strengthen the bond between indigenous democratic movements abroad and the people of the United States -- a bond based on a common commitment to representative government and freedom as a way of life.
About the NED
  • How the NED Works
  • NED History
  • 20th Anniversary Timeline

    Strategy Documents:
    1992, 1997, 2002
  • NED 2002 Prospectus
  • Principles & Objectives

    Additional Documentation:

  • Remarks at a White House Ceremony Inaugurating the National Endowment for Democracy - President Reagan, December 16, 1983

  • Promoting Democracy and Peace - President Reagan,
    June 8, 1982

  • Freedom in Iraq and Middle East - President Bush at the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, October 18, 2003
    • Democracy involves the right of the people freely to determine their own destiny. The exercise of this right requires a system that guarantees freedom of expression, belief and association, free and competitive elections, respect for the inalienable rights of individuals and minorities, free communications media, and the rule of law. National Endowment for Democracy:

    1101 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 700
    Washington, DC 20005 USA

    202/293-9072 ~ Fax: 202/223-6042 ~ info@ned.org ~
    National Endowment for Democracy | 1101 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 700 | Washington DC, 20005 | 202/293-9072 | Fax 202/223-6042
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