Victor Mendez was the Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 2014 to 2017 and was previously sworn in on July 24, 2009, as Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the 18th person to hold this position. As Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Mendez encouraged the adoption of innovations in highways and supported international cooperation. In 2011, he signed the first Memorandum of Cooperation with the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories.