The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Michael P. Huerta as the next Federal Aviation Administration administrator.

“I am pleased that the Senate has finally confirmed Michael Huerta as the FAA Administrator,” U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement. “The FAA needs a strong leader at the helm and Administrator Huerta will provide the leadership needed to modernize air transportation and make certain it continues to function at the highest levels of safety.”

Huerta was commissioner of New York City’s Department of Ports, International Trade and Commerce from 1986 to 1989. In January 1989, he left to serve as the executive director of the Port of San Francisco until 1993. From 1993 to 1998 he held senior positions at the United States Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C., serving under Secretaries Federico Peña and Rodney E. Slater during the Clinton Administration.

Huerta worked as a Managing Director with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, prepared Salt Lake City’s transportation outlets for the Olympics. Huerta was involved in the planning and construction of a variety of Olympic transportation facilities, as well as the development of a highly successful travel demand management system that made sure that the transportation system operated safely and efficiently.

From 2002 to 2009, Huerta was Group President of the Transportation Solutions Group at Affiliated Computer Services, a Xerox subsidiary specializing in business processes and information technology.

President Obama nominated Huerta as deputy administrator of the FAA. Before his confirmation, Huerta became Acting Administrator of the FAA upon the resignation of Randy Babbitt on Dec. 6, 2011.

Wikipedia contributed to this report.