WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. Patrick Mendis, a distinguished alumnus of Perham High School, M State at Fergus Falls, and the University of Minnesota, has been appointed by President Joe Biden as an advisor to the U.S. National Security Education Board (NSEB), as per a statement from the White House.
The NSEB, comprising of 14 members including eight cabinet secretaries and six esteemed American citizens, is overseen by the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Hailing from Perham, Dr. Mendis, affectionately known as an “adopted Minnesotan” thanks to the late Bill and Dorothy Johnson, was previously an American Field Service exchange student at PHS. With an educational background from Harvard and Minnesota, he has served as a military professor at NATO and the Indo-Pacific Command. Currently, Dr. Mendis holds the prestigious Taiwan chair and serves as a distinguished visiting professor of international relations at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Additionally, he is a distinguished visiting professor of transatlantic relations at the University of Warsaw.
His impressive resume also includes stints as a Taiwan fellow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taipei.
The appointment of Dr. Mendis by the President is not only a recognition of his expertise as an international relations scholar and a former U.S. diplomat across multiple administrations, but also a testament to the strengthening ties between Poland, Taiwan, and the global community in matters of international engagement and security.
In a letter of support to the White House, Rep. Betty McCollum, a prominent figure in the U.S. Congress, highlighted Dr. Mendis’s extensive experience in government and academia, emphasizing the value he brings to the Biden-Harris administration.
Similarly, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota endorsed Dr. Mendis’s candidacy, lauding him as a respected leader, award-winning public servant, teacher, and diplomat.
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