Raymond Martinez

Raymond P. Martinez is the current Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. From 2010 to 2018, Martinez served as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Chair and Chief Administrator in the Cabinet of Governor Chris Christie. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Protocol for the United States Department of State and as New York State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.

Martinez was an aide in the New York State Senate and worked as an attorney in private practice, including working for Citibank. He also served in the Reagan administration as first lady Nancy Reagan’s deputy director of scheduling and advance, and was a special assistant in the New York office of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1989, Martinez pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Nassau County, New York, and was fined $350.

Martinez is a graduate of St. John's University School of Law and C.W. Post College of Long Island University.

From 1989 through 2005, Martinez served on numerous White House advance teams for domestic and international trips of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. In President Ronald Reagan's administration, he was Deputy Director for Scheduling and Advance at the White House for First Lady Nancy Reagan and also served as a Special Assistant at the New York Regional Office of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Previously, Martinez worked as a Legislative Aide for the New York State Senate.

Martinez served as New York State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under Governor George Pataki from December 2000 to December 2005; as Assistant General Counsel to the Long Island (New York) Power Authority; as Special Counsel and Deputy Chief of Staff for the New York State Attorney General; and as an attorney in private practice.

Martinez was sworn in as Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States on December 12, 2005. As Deputy Chief, Martinez served as the chief operating officer of the Office of the Chief of Protocol, as well as Acting Chief of Protocol in the absence of the Chief. In this role, Martinez oversaw the visits of chiefs of state, heads of government and other international dignitaries who were in the United States to meet with the President, Vice President or Secretary of State. He also accompanied delegations representing the President at official ceremonies abroad.

He was first arrested in September 1987 in Fairfax County, Virginia, for a DUI. His second DUI arrest was in August 1989 in Nassau County, New York. Both resulted in convictions, according to the testimony submitted to the Senate. Martinez turns 57 in December, meaning he was 26 and 28 at the time of the arrests.

On February 1, 2010, Martinez was nominated to the position of Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission by Governor Chris Christie. He directs approximately 2,400 employees at 71 locations throughout the state.

Martinez resides in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey