Sri Lankan-born professor appointed to U.S. National Security Education Board

Dr. Patrick Mendis, a former U.S. diplomat of Sri Lankan origin, has been appointed as an advisor to the U.S. National Security Education Board by President Joe Biden.

According to a statement published by the White House, Dr. Mendis was also a military professor in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Indo-Pacific Commands during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations.

He has held many senior government positions in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State.

Dr. Mendis is currently located in Washington DC, while serving as a distinguished visiting professor of transatlantic relations at the University of Warsaw in Poland as well as a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Until recently, Dr. Mendis served two terms as a commissioner to the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at the Department of State, the statement read further.

Previously, he worked as the Secretariat Director of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as the Chairman of the U.S. Interagency Policy Working Group on Science and Technology in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

He also served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, an advisor to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, and a consultant to the World Bank. Dr. Mendis also served in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He is an alumnus of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Additionally, he has authored over 200 books, journal articles, newspaper columns, and government reports. Dr. Mendis has taught at more than 25 Chinese universities and academies and worked in and travelled to more than 130 countries, the statement continued.

Congratulations to Dr. Patrick Mendis, a Sri Lankan-born former U.S. diplomat, on his recent appointment as an advisor to the National Security Education Board by President Joe Biden! An alum of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Kennedy School of Government at… pic.twitter.com/81I5ZlQ9p0

— U.S. Embassy Colombo (@USEmbSL) April 2, 2024