Paul J. Wiedefeld is an American politician serving as the Maryland Secretary of Transportation under Governor Wes Moore since 2023. He was previously the general manager of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from 2015 to 2022, the chief executive officer of the Maryland Aviation Administration from 2002 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2015, and the administrator of the Maryland Transportation Administration from 2007 to 2009.
After graduating from Rutgers, Wiedefeld briefly worked as a planner in Morris County, New Jersey, before moving back to Baltimore. He began working for the Maryland Department of Transportation in 1986, where he played a leading role in managing dozens of transportation projects. From 1991 to 1994, he oversaw the department's Office of Systems Planning and Evaluation.
In 1994, Wiedefeld left the Maryland Department of Transportation to become the vice president of engineering and design firm Parsons Brinckerhoff. In April 2002, Governor Parris Glendening named Wiedefeld as the executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration. While CEO, Wiedefeld oversaw the $1.8 billion expansion of Baltimore/Washington International Airport, which was one of the fastest-growing airports in the country at the time. In July 2005, Wiedefeld announced that he would be stepping down to work as the head of aviation consulting practice at Parsons Brinckerhoff.
In 2007, Governor Martin O'Malley named Wiedefeld as the administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration. In November 2008, he ordered the two-week shut down of the northern part of the Baltimore Light RailLink, citing a computerized braking system causing the trains' wheels to crack. In September 2009, Wiedefeld was named as the chief executive officer of the Maryland Aviation Administration, succeeding Timothy L. Campbell. In July 2015, Governor Larry Hogan announced that he would be replacing Wiedefeld with Ricky D. Smith, the head of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
