Vernon Mendis

Infobox Secretary-General
name=Dr Vernon Mendis
honorific-prefix = Deshamanya
honorific-suffix =
nationality=Sri Lankan


order=United Nations Special Envoy to the Middle East
order1=Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to USSR, France, Cuba
term_start= 1980
term_end= 1985
predecessor=
successor=
birth_date=birth date and age|1925|12|5|mf=y
birth_place=Ceylon
dead=
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=
party=
vicepresident=
religion=
Deshamanya Dr Vernon L. B. Mendis (Born December 5, 1925) is a prominent Sri Lankan Diplomat, who severed as the United Nation's Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is refereed to as the "Sri Lanka’s Father of Diplomacy" [http://www.nation.lk/2006/06/18/eyefea4.htm Sri Lanka’s Father of Diplomacy Dr. Vernon .L. B. Mendis reminisces his trail blazing career spanning over a half century with Nation Eye] ] and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to USSR, France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.

Education

Dr Vernon Mendis was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo and at the University of Ceylon, where he studied history. His classmate at Royal College Colombo was Hon. Justice Christopher Weeramantry who became the Vice President of the International Court of Justice.

Diplomatic career

Dr Mendis was in the first batch of cadets who were taken in to the newly formed Ceylon Overseas Service in 1949 through a highly competitive examination and selection process and later given permanent appointment by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. His first placement was as counselor in the Ceylon's embassy in Washington DC, where Sir Claude Corea was ambassador. After Washington he was sent to Tokyo to the newly established mission there before its first ambassador, Sir Susantha de Fonseka arrived. He then served in the Ceylon's missions in Paris as Charge-d’Affaires (1953-1955) and Moscow (1955-1960) where Dr.G.P. Malalasekera was the ambassador. He was recalled to Ceylon in 1960 to be appointed as Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Defense and External Affairs at the age of 35, one of the youngest to hold that position. Next he was made deputy high commissioner for Ceylon in London and later in New Delhi.

In 1965 he was appointed as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and later he was made ambassador to USSR. In 1970 he was recalled to Colombo, where he was Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minster Sirimavo Bandaranaike, during which time he played a major role in the formulation of foreign policy of Sri Lanka which had become a republic in 1972. A major milestone of his career was in 1976 when he functioned as the Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement Summit in Colombo, where he had to chair sessions in the presence of some of the greatest leaders at the time, such as Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Yugoslavian Premier Marshal Tito, Cuban President Fidel Castro. Soon after he was appointed the high commissioner of Sri Lanka to Canada with concurrent accreditation to Cuba. When his tenure as high commissioner ended in 1980 he retired from the Sri Lanka Overseas Service.

United Nation's Special Envoy to the Middle East

Soon after leaving the foreign Service he took up posting with the United Nations as Special Envoy in the Middle East based in Cairo. There he was in charge of looking after the interests of the United Nations in the Gulf where Egypt was making waves in its foreign policy. He had to deal with some of the issues in relation to Egypt’s Cultural Treasures on behalf of the UNESCO and with Egypt’s relations with Sudan.

Later life

Returning to Sri Lanka after his work in the UN, he served as the chairman of the Telecom Board for three years. He was also served as a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. At present he is serving as the Director of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute in Colombo.

Honours

* Awarded the title of Deshamanya by the Sri Lankan Government

References

External links

* [http://www.dailynews.lk/2002/12/05/fea04.html Doyen of Diplomacy celebrates his birthday and fifty years of service to the nation, by Thilaka Perera]
* [http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/12/08/fea06.asp Vernon LB Mendis Diplomat par excellence]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/menik/sets/72157603499395695/ South Asian Foreign Relations' buddy icon Sri Lankan Foreign Service (SLFS) Career Diplomat from 1949]
* [http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1084 Sinhalayo by Senerat Paranavitana]
* [http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6953&Itemid=44 We have a people-centric Foreign Policy -- Foreign Minister ]
* [http://www.lmd.lk/2008/September/writer.htm LMD Writers]