Andres Roemer, Recipient of 2017 Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award

Dr. Andrés Roemer is a renowned author, humanitarian, and one of Mexico’s most internationally recognized public intellectuals.
The Harvard Club of San Francisco recognized Dr. Roemer for “having the courage to stand up for his beliefs.” As the former Ambassador of Mexico to the UNESCO, he took a principled stand—costing him his job—but ultimately succeeding in changing the position of his country.
At a UNESCO Session in Paris, Dr. Roemer refused to cast a vote in favor of a resolution on Jerusalem that denied the Jewish people’s historic connection to the Temple Mount and the ancient city.
The San Francisco Chronicle called him a “rare public figure who deserves to be called a Renaissance man.”
Dr. Roemer previously served as Consul General in San Francisco, where he has played a crucial role in enhancing the partnership in education, culture and innovation between Mexico and the United States.
He earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, where he received the Don K. Prize Award. He is a pioneer in creating and implementing key ways of promoting science, art, and culture in his native country.
As an author, journalist, playwright, TV host and conference organizer, Dr. Roemer has shaped intellectual discourse on public affairs in Mexico, and is widely recognized for his prodigious efforts to bring the world to Mexico, and Mexico to the world.
Dr. Roemer’s work to promote human rights has been wide-ranging. He was elected by the Senate to the Advisory Board of the Mexican National Human Rights Commission. One of his two award-winning plays, “Oskar and Jack,” received the Theatre Journalists Association Award for Human Rights Defense. He is a creator of numerous television programs, including “Dialogues: cultural diversity, human rights, education and science.”
Dr. Roemer has also won numerous national and international awards, including the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from the University of California at Berkeley.
Creator of the internationally celebrated “Ciudad de las Ideas” festival, he is also the author of 16 books, on diverse topics such as happiness, art, sexuality, love, water, soccer, law, economics, crime, evolutionary psychology, government, cultural mobility and public policy; two plays and a board game on negotiation.