Timothy John “Tim” Roemer’s formal nomination as the US ambassador to India reflects Obama administration’s determination to build strategic partnership with this important South Asian country. It may also mark the turning point in the Indo-US relationship.
Roemer, 52, seems to have been selected for this crucial post owing to his moderate, bipartisan politics, and national security experience. He will replace David Campbell Mulford, who was until recently the US ambassador to India.
(Meanwhile the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit India in July to meet the new External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a critical time in U.S.-India relations. More here…)
“From the floor of the U.S. Congress to the chambers of the 9/11 Commission, Tim Roemer has dedicated his professional career to strengthening national security and improving education in America,” according to the Centre for Nationl Policy.
“After the attacks of September 11, Roemer used his position on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to support the work of a Joint Congressional Inquiry into the nature of the attacks.
“Roemer also was the key sponsor of legislation to establish the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as ‘The 9/11 Commission.’
“Roemer now serves on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2007 as an outgrowth of the reforms put forth by the 9/11 Commission to examine how the United States can best address this threat to our national security.
“In addition, he serves on the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Presidential Task Force on Combating the Ideology of Radical Extremism, and the National Parks Second Century Commission.
“Since leaving Congress in 2003, Roemer has continued to work on developing ways to strengthen national security as President of the Center for National Policy.
“He has promoted new ideas on national security issues on NBC Nightly News, CNN, FOX, NPR and in the pages of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report and others.
“As a Distinguished Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Roemer works with Members of Congress and staff to improve public policy outcomes by teaching on the legislative branch and policy analysis.” More here…
Tim Roemer married Sally Johnston, the daughter of former U.S. Senator for Louisiana Bennett Johnston Jr., in 1999. They have four children: Patrick Hunter Roemer, Matthew Bennett Roemer, Sarah Kathryn Roemer, and Grace Elizabeth Roemer.
Roemer lives in Great Falls, Virginia. He is Roman Catholic and attends St. Thomas a’ Becket Catholic Church. More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.