Dr. Patrick Mendis

Patrick Mendis is an award-winning diplomat, educator, author, philanthropist, and executive in government service in the United States.

An alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Dr. Mendis was appointed by the Obama administration to serve two-terms as a commissioner to the National Commission for UNESCO at the Department of State until the United States withdrew from the UN agency.

Prior to this, he was an American diplomat and a military professor during the Clinton and Bush administrations, holding various positions in the US Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State. For his government service and leadership, Dr. Mendis received the USDA Graduate School’s Outstanding Service Award as well as the Department of State’s Meritorious Honor Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, and other commendations by both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Dr. Mendis, who served as a Taiwan fellow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of China, is a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. He is also a distinguished visiting professor of culture and diplomacy at the Chinese Culture University of Taiwan. Before returning to Taiwan, he served as a distinguished visiting professor of Sino-American relations at the Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing.

After many years in government service, Dr. Mendis returned to academia to serve as a visiting foreign policy scholar at the Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the vice president of academic affairs at the Osgood Center for International Studies. While at SAIS, he published two books: "Trade for Peace: How the DNA of America, Freemasonry, and Providence Created a New World Order with Nobody in Charge" (Foreword by Prof. J. Brian Atwood, University of Minnesota) and "Commercial Providence: The Secret Destiny of the American Empire" (Foreword by Prof. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, George Washington University).

When he later joined the George Mason University (GMU) as a distinguished senior fellow and affiliate professor of public and international affairs at the Schar School of Public Policy and Government, Dr. Mendis authored his most recent book, "Peaceful War: How the Chinese Dream and the American Destiny Create a New Pacific World Order" (Foreword by Prof. Jack Goldstone, GMU). This book was translated to Mandarin Chinese and published in China.

When he served as a visiting professor of economics and public policy at the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea Program, Dr. Mendis wrote a regular column for The Asian American Press based on his intercultural voyage around the world. Subsequently, he authored a book "Glocalization: The Human Side of Globalization as If the Washington Consensus Mattered" (Foreword by Sir Arthur Clarke, King’s College, London). From the proceeds of the sales of his book, Dr. Mendis established the tsunami scholarships in Sri Lanka—matched by financial contributions made available by the late Sir Clarke who lived on the island.

Dr. Mendis is a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He held a variety of other positions, including: a senior fellow at the Taiwan Center for Security Studies (Taipei), a research associate at Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, a Rajawali senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, a senior fellow and academic advisor at the Pangoal Institution (Beijing), a distinguished visiting scholar at the National Confucius Research Institute of China (Qufu), a governing board member at the USDA Graduate School (appointed by President George W. Bush), a Socrates Society fellow at the Aspen Institute (Washington), a science and diplomacy fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Washington), a Coolidge research fellow at Columbia University, a Sasakawa fellow (Japan), and a Twenty-first Century Trust fellow at Oxford University.

Earlier in his career, he served as a visiting professor of economics and management at the Leningrad State University and the Moscow State University in the former Soviet Union. Dr. Mendis twice served as a visiting professor of global affairs and later UN studies at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.

For his academic leadership, government service, and philanthropic activities, Dr. Mendis was honored with the University of Minnesota’s Alumnus of Notable Achievement Award. Other recognitions include the Hubert Humphrey Outstanding Leadership Award, the University of Minnesota President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service, and the Harold Stassen Award for United Nations Affairs.

Dr. Mendis was named among the “13 World Famous People Born in Sri Lanka.” The Sri Lanka Foundation in California recognized him with the Exceptional Achievement Award in International Diplomacy. He was also the first recipient of the UNESCO Award, the winner of the Best Commander of the Army Cadets Corps of Sri Lanka, and the General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University Award in Sri Lanka.

He is listed in "Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges," "Who’s Who of Asian Americans," "Who’s Who in America," and "Who’s Who in the World."

Dr. Mendis has either lived, traveled, or worked in more than 125 countries and visited all 50 states and other territories of the United States. He lives in the Washington, DC area.