One of the country’s most erudite diplomats – Deshamanya Dr. Vernon L. B. Mendis – passed away on June 23. He was 85 years.
Dr. Mendis belonged to the first intake of the Ceylon Overseas Service, created in 1949. He was the country’s most senior professional diplomat at the time of his death.
In his long and distinguished career, Dr Mendis served in a number of Sri Lanka diplomatic missions, including Washington, Moscow, Tokyo and Paris.
Later, he was named Chief of Protocol. He also served as Counsellor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1960 to 1963. He was Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi (1966-69), before being appointed Director General of the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs, with the rank of Additional Secretary and Head of External Affairs.
The late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike appointed only career officers as heads of missions. Dr. Mendis successively held the positions of High Commissioner in the UK and in Canada, and Ambassador in France. He also served as Regional Director for UNESCO to Arab States, with headquarters in Cairo, and as a Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace. He was chairman of the Telecommunication Board of Sri Lanka from 1985 to 1990.
In addition, he was Secretary General of the Non-aligned Mini-Summit (December 1962) on the Sino-Indian border conflict, and Secretary General of the 5th Non-aligned Summit held in Colombo, in September 1976.
Dr. Mendis carried out his duties with dignity and aplomb. With his meticulous diction and impeccable language skills, he could hold the attention of any audience.
He was tall and handsome, always well dressed. He could walk into any international gathering and mingle comfortably with royalty and the elite. He could lecture for hours without notes. His many skills brought credit and honour to the country.
Dr. Mendis received a Peace Fellowship Award from the US Institute of Peace Studies, in Washington. He was also the recipient of local national honours, such as the Vishwa Prasadini (1996) and the Deshamanya (1998) for distinguished service to the country.
On retirement, Dr. Mendis chose to live in the land of his birth and make himself available for any national cause.
It was not long before he was invited to lecture at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS), by BCIS director Ray Forbes.
It was around this time that Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike conceived the idea of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI). When the institute was eventually set up, in 1995, Dr Mendis was the unanimous choice as founding Director General.
Dr. Mendis launched the institute’s first course of lectures, in November 1995, and created the curriculum for the first General Course – a comprehensive introduction to international affairs and international relations.
The course proved very popular, and came to be described as “a voyage around the world in 100 hours”. Dr Mendis’s diplomatic skills were appreciated by trainees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the wider public.
The general course attracted participants from the public and the private sector. These included high-ranking government officers, the armed forces, media personnel, foreign diplomatic personnel, lawyers and students. Most of the high-ranking officials now serving in the Ministry of External Affairs and occupying diplomatic positions have benefited from Dr. Mendis’s teaching and guidance.
Dr. Mendis was blessed with a charming wife, Paddy, an accomplished son, Harish, and a pretty daughter-in-law, Dayalini.
Former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Christopher van Hollen, had this to say in a contribution to a felicitation volume (2004) in honour of Dr. Mendis: “We think of Vernon as a person of great integrity, intellectual curiosity, candour, warmth and good humour. Paddy shares most of these traits and she has her own ebullient, outgoing personality.”
I was on the staff of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI), from its inception until 2007. My first encounter with Dr. Mendis was in 1976, when he interviewed me for the post of attaché in our High Commission in New Delhi. I well remember my trepidation facing him on that occasion.
My association with Dr. Mendis at the BIDTI was very different. Working closely with him, I saw his benevolence and magnanimity. He was ready to help any junior who needed his assistance or guidance.
Dr. Mendis was a devout Christian who respected all religions. In his public speeches, he would proudly say that Sri Lankan diplomacy originated in the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India, between King Devanampiya Tissa and Emperor Ashoka. Budhism was introduced to Sri Lanka with the blessings of that historic diplomatic relationship.
We hope the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute, which owes its existence to the visionary Dr. Mendis, will perpetuate Dr. Mendis’s name in an appropriate way.
May his soul rest in peace.
G. A. Harischandra |
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