Andrés Roemer is a Mexican writer, diplomat, and public intellectual best known as a former Ambassador of Mexico to UNESCO and as the founder of the Ciudad de las Ideas festival.
He built a career spanning law, economics, television production, and cultural diplomacy before facing serious legal proceedings from 2021 onward.
Who is Andres Roemer?
Andrés Isaac Roemer Slomianski is a Mexican writer, economist, lawyer, and former diplomat who served as Mexico’s Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris.
He holds doctorates from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree from Harvard University, and built a public profile across television, publishing, and international cultural policy.
He founded the Ciudad de las Ideas, a major annual conference held in Puebla, Mexico, from 2008 to 2021.
In that role he brought hundreds of scientists, artists, and thinkers to Mexico for one of Latin America’s most prominent intellectual gatherings.
Since 2021, Roemer has been at the center of a major criminal case in Mexico. Over 60 women have accused him of rape and sexual assault. He has denied all allegations.
Early Life of Andres Roemer
Andrés Roemer was born on July 12, 1963, in Mexico City, Mexico. His grandfather was Ernst Römer, a German Jewish orchestra conductor who emigrated to Mexico in 1938. Roemer grew up in Mexico City within the city’s Jewish community.
His father is Oscar Roemer and his mother is Fanny Slomianski. He describes himself as an “atheist Jew” and has publicly connected his identity to both his Mexican upbringing and his Jewish heritage.
From an early age, Roemer showed wide intellectual interests. He pursued two undergraduate degrees simultaneously before moving abroad for graduate study.
Andres Roemer Age / Birthday
Andrés Roemer is 63 years old as of 2026, born on July 12, 1963. His zodiac sign is Cancer, a sign often linked with intuition, strong family ties, and tenacity.
He spent decades building a career at the intersection of public policy, culture, and international diplomacy.
Andres Roemer Ethnicity and Nationality
Andrés Roemer holds Mexican nationality, born and raised in Mexico City. He is of Jewish heritage through his paternal grandfather’s German-Jewish family, who fled Europe before World War II.
Roemer also holds Israeli nationality, a dual citizenship that became relevant during his 2021 flight to Israel following criminal proceedings in Mexico.
Andres Roemer Education
Roemer completed two undergraduate degrees simultaneously between 1983 and 1987.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City, graduating with honors (summa cum laude).
At the same time, he completed a Bachelor of Law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), also graduating summa cum laude.
He then earned a Master in Public Administration (MPA-2) from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government between 1989 and 1991.
At Harvard, he received the Don K. Price Award for Academic Distinction and Commitment within the Public Sector.
Roemer completed a Ph.D. in Public Policy from 1991 to 1994 at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley.
His doctoral thesis focused on water public policies, and it earned him the Academic Distinction award from Berkeley. The Goldman School later named him a Notable Alumnus.
Andres Roemer Career
Roemer’s career spans academic lecturing, civil service, television production, and international diplomacy.
He worked across these fields simultaneously for much of his professional life, building a reputation as one of Mexico’s most publicly visible intellectuals.
Academic Career (1987–2013)
From 1987 to 2000, Roemer taught at ITAM in Mexico City. His courses included Law and Economics, Economics of Culture and Art, Microeconomics, Public Policy, Economics of Crime, and Law and Economics.
Between 1990 and 1991, he worked as an associate professor at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, teaching courses on leadership and resource economics.
From 1992 to 1994, he taught in the Master in Public Policy program at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School.
Between 2011 and 2013, he served as a Senior Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s law school.
He also held a Senior Visiting Scholar position in Culture Codes and Evolutionary Psychology there.
Civil Service and Diplomacy (1994–2016)
From 1994 to 1995, Roemer worked as coordinator of strategy for Mexico’s Ministry of the Interior.
Between 1995 and 1997, he served as a personal advisor on the New Federalism Project under then-President Ernesto Zedillo.
From 1998 to 1999, he worked as Technical Secretary of the Social Development Cabinet in the Office of President Zedillo.
Between 2000 and 2003, he served as Secretary Technician “B” (an undersecretary-level role) for Cultural Policy within Mexico’s National Council for Culture and Arts (CONACULTA).
From 2010 to 2013, he sat on the advisory board of Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, a post confirmed by the Senate.
In 2013, President Enrique Peña Nieto appointed Roemer as Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco, California.
The Mexican Congress approved the appointment on July 31, 2013. He served in San Francisco until May 31, 2016.
On April 14, 2016, the Mexican Senate ratified Roemer as Mexico’s Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris.
Two months into that posting, in October 2016, he walked out of a UNESCO vote on a resolution concerning the Old City of Jerusalem.
Roemer refused to cast Mexico’s vote in favor of the resolution, which critics argued denied Jewish historical ties to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. His government removed him from the post shortly after.
His stand earned significant recognition in Israel. The city of Ramat Gan renamed a street in his honor.
In 2017, UN Watch awarded him the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award. He also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris in 2017.
Ciudad de las Ideas and Television (2008–2021)
In 2008, Roemer co-founded the Ciudad de las Ideas, an annual international conference in Puebla, Mexico.
The festival ran each November, drawing up to 3,600 attendees and featuring more than 60 speakers from science, technology, art, business, and public affairs.
He organized it in partnership with Grupo Salinas and its president Ricardo Salinas Pliego, through his NGO Poder Cívico A.C.
Roemer also created over 1,000 television programs during his career. These included “Between the Public and Private” and “In the Ring” on TV Azteca, as well as “Think About Thinking,” “Roemer Report,” and “Ciudad de las Ideas” on the Project 40 network.
The Ciudad de las Ideas conference ran until 2021, when it was suspended following the criminal allegations against Roemer.
Legal Proceedings (2021–Present)
In February 2021, dancer and producer Itzel Schnaas publicly accused Roemer of sexual assault, describing an incident during what she understood to be a work meeting.
Her account prompted dozens of additional women to come forward.
The Mexican organization Periodistas Unidas Mexicanas collected more than 60 testimonies from women including actress Mariana Peñalva, singer Mariana Flores, actress Daniella Gamba, and others.
On May 5, 2021, Mexico City’s Attorney General’s Office issued an arrest warrant for the felony of rape.
Shortly after, Interpol issued a red notice for his international arrest. Roemer had by then fled to Israel, citing his Israeli nationality. UNESCO ended his collaboration with the organization following the allegations.
In October 2022, Mexico formally requested his extradition from Israel. Israeli police arrested Roemer in Tel Aviv on October 2, 2023. After spending time in detention, he moved to house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet.
On March 28, 2024, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that Roemer could be extradited to Mexico.
He appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court, arguing the charges were politically motivated and that he would not receive a fair trial. On April 10, 2025, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected that appeal.
Chief Justice Yosef Elron stated that Roemer’s work on behalf of Israel did not justify shielding him from criminal prosecution.
His extradition to Mexico was approved as final. Roemer has denied all allegations throughout the proceedings.
Andres Roemer Books and Publications
Roemer authored more than 16 books across a range of fields. His published works include Sexualidad, derecho y políticas públicas (Sexuality, Law and Public Policies, 1998) and Economía del crimen (Crime Economics, 2000).
He also wrote El Otro Einstein (The Other Einstein, 2008) and Oskar y Jack (Oskar and Jack, 2011), published by Editorial Miguel Ángel Porrúa in Mexico.
His play Oskar y Jack received the Theatre Journalists Association Award for Human Rights Defense.
His later English-language work Move Up, co-written with Clotaire Rapaille, was published in the UK by Allen Lane (Penguin Books) in 2015.
He has written on topics including public policy, law and economics, cultural mobility, evolutionary psychology, art, gender equality, and soccer.
Andres Roemer Awards and Honors
Roemer received the Don K. Price Award for Academic Distinction during his master’s studies at Harvard University.
UC Berkeley recognized him with the Haas Award and the Academic Distinction for his doctoral thesis. The Goldman School of Public Policy named him a Notable Alumnus.
In 2006, Microsoft Corporation designated a special award in his name. In 2017, UN Watch presented him with the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award for his stand at UNESCO.
His play Oskar y Jack won the Theatre Journalists Association Award for Human Rights Defense.
His refusal to vote at UNESCO in 2016 led to his firing as ambassador but earned him an honorary street naming in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Andres Roemer Wife
Andrés Roemer married Pamela Cortés, an Ecuadorian journalist. The two first crossed paths at a Ciudad de las Ideas event.
They later reconnected when Pamela, then working at a women’s magazine, contacted him for a profile. Their relationship developed after that, and Roemer proposed to her in Paris.
Before her relationship with Roemer became public, Pamela frequently shared their life together on social media.
Andres Roemer Net Worth
Andrés Roemer’s exact net worth is not publicly disclosed. Trusted financial sources have not published a verified figure for his wealth.
His income came from his roles as a diplomat, academic, television producer, author, and conference organizer over several decades.
His career with Mexico’s federal government, his UNESCO posting, and his work as founder and curator of the Ciudad de las Ideas all formed the basis of his professional income.
Conclusion
Andrés Roemer built one of Mexico’s most public intellectual careers over three decades, from Harvard and Berkeley to the UNESCO ambassadorship and the Ciudad de las Ideas festival.
His story took a sharp legal turn in 2021 when criminal charges of rape and sexual assault filed by more than 60 women led to his flight to Israel, his arrest there in 2023, and an extradition ruling approved by Israel’s Supreme Court in 2025.