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U.S. Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer
U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer
Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer leads one of America's largest diplomatic missions and has principal responsibility for broadening and deepening the multi-faceted U.S.-India partnership. Nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama as the 21st U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India on May 27, 2009, Ambassador Roemer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2009, and sworn in on July 23, 2009. He presented his credentials to Indian President Pratibha Patil on August 11, 2009.
As one of the youngest Ambassadors appointed to India, Ambassador Roemer immediately and enthusiastically reached out to the people of India, leading by example in strengthening the people-to-people ties that form the foundation of the expanding U.S.-India relationship. Ambassador Roemer has traveled extensively across India meeting with a range of national and community leaders, Nobel laureates, business leaders, NGOs, and schoolchildren.
The U.S.-India relationship is one of the most important relationships in the world. The Ambassador is an indefatigable champion of the burgeoning U.S.-India relationship across all fields of human endeavor including strategic cooperation; science, technology, health and innovation; energy and climate change; education and development; and economics, trade, and agriculture. The Ambassador has stressed strong ties to the U.S. business community to create new trade opportunities and retain and create new jobs at home. The Ambassador stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Indian government and people to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice. He is also a proud advocate of innovations delivering greater access to clean and affordable energy and electricity for all Indians, particularly the most disadvantaged and the rural poor, while producing jobs and economic opportunities for the people of both India and the United States. He has also been an early and effective advocate for new technologies, such as cookstoves, to help prevent premature sickness and death due to indoor pollution and to contribute to a cleaner environment. Reinforcing the strong educational ties between India and the US are also a key part of the Ambassador’s agenda. Honoring President Obama’s call to service, Ambassador Roemer has pioneered Mission-wide volunteer programs, working with local organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Sweccha.
These focal points of the U.S.-India partnership, from counter-terrorism to education to public service, have long been hallmarks of Ambassador Roemer’s career and life. While representing the 3rd District of Indiana for six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003, Ambassador Roemer was deeply engaged in efforts to improve access to and standards of improved education. He was the driving force behind a number of ground-breaking educational initiatives, encouraging innovations which help ensure quality education for all American students. During his years in Congress, Ambassador Roemer was also deeply interested in youth service and opportunity creation, sponsoring legislation establishing the AmeriCorps national service program and expanding the Head Start program. He was engaged with legislation to support education for the disabled, to promote teacher certification for professionals from outside fields, and to provide workforce training for non-college-bound high school students. These experiences inform the Ambassador’s personal engagement in US-India cooperation in the field of education at all levels.
National security is another defining issue for Ambassador Roemer. In the U.S., after September 11, 2001, Ambassador Roemer was one of the first members of Congress to call for a Cabinet-level federal executive department to oversee and improve our national security and homeland security response and was an original sponsor of the legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security. Ambassador Roemer has served on a number of independent commissions concerned with national security matters. He was a member of the 9/11 Commission, as well as the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation and Terrorism. In addition, he served on the Washington Institute's Presidential Task Force on Combating the Ideology of Radical Extremism. As a Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Ambassador Roemer worked with Members of Congress and staff to improve public policy outcomes by teaching on the legislative branch and policy analysis.
Prior to his nomination as Ambassador to India, Ambassador Roemer was President of the Center for National Policy (CNP) in Washington, D.C. a moderate think-tank dedicated to sparking bipartisan dialogue and actively encouraging solutions to America's most important national security challenges. Under his leadership, CNP fostered productive dialogue by bringing together experts and policy makers to build consensus and political cooperation on Capitol Hill and with the Executive Branch.
Ambassador Roemer holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.A. and PhD. in American Government from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife, Sally, have four children: Patrick, Matthew, Sarah, and Grace. His interests include basketball, coaching his children in sports, reading history and biographies, and collecting first edition books.
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