Sri Lanka-born former US diplomat and military professor appointed as Taiwan Fellow

Dr. Patrick Mendis was honoured with the Benjamin Franklin Award by the US Department of State during the George W. Bush administration

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China has awarded the prestigious Taiwan Fellowship to Prof. Patrick Mendis this year. 

A first-class BSc graduate of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Dr. Mendis has served as the youth ambassador of Sri Lanka to the first UN Conference on the International Year of the Youth at the United Nations Secretariat in New York prior to becoming a naturalised citizen of the United States. 

A frequent visitor to Taiwan, he has returned to Taipei and started teaching as the distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University. Dr. Mendis plans to conduct research on China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) of the United States as a senior fellow of the Taiwan Center for Strategic Studies in Taipei. 

US Congressman Gerry Connolly, co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and a senior member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, said: “Dr. Patrick Mendis is a highly respected foreign policy scholar, an award-winning public servant, and American diplomat. Patrick and I served in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and I know he will be a distinguished Taiwan Fellow and will contribute to better understanding between the two countries.”

An alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Mendis left Minnesota for Washington, D.C., when he accepted a government position at the US Department of State. He served in the US Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State during the Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations. His latest appointment—as a commissioner to the United States National Commission for UNECSO—by the Obama White House continued until the Trump administration withdrew from the UN body.

After his government service, he spent two years at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University and authored two books, Trade for Peace and Commercial Providence. At George Mason University, Dr. Mendis taught courses while working as a distinguished senior fellow and affiliate professor of public and international affairs at the Schar School of Public Policy and Government. During his tenure, he authored numerous articles and his seventh book, Peaceful War between China and the United States, for which GMU Professor Jack Goldstone wrote the foreword.

US Congresswoman Betty McCollum said, “Patrick’s vast experience at a senior level in US Government service and academia make him very well suited to contribute his insights and knowledge to advancing the bilateral relationship between Taiwan and the United States at this critical time.” Representative McCollum is the vice chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the US-China Working Group in Congress.

Dr. Mendis has travelled to all the provinces of China and every state in the United States. Lectured at over 25 Chinese universities and academies, the American diplomat completed his final teaching assignment at the Yenching Academy of Peking University until the US-China trade war began to make it increasingly difficult for American scholars. He served there as a distinguished visiting professor of Sino-American relations. 

“I’m pleased to congratulate Dr. Patrick Mendis on his appointment as the Taiwan Fellow by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei. Patrick has contributed years of dedicated service to our country, and has been recognized for his academic achievements, outstanding government career, and important philanthropic work. I know that, in his new capacity, he will make important contributions to the US Taiwan relationship,” said US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.