Sean Connaughton served as the Maritime Administrator from September 6, 2006, until the end of the administration of George W. Bush. Connaughton is a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983, a Third Mates (Unlimited Tonnage) Merchant Marine license and a commission to the US Coast Guard. There, he served on active duty from 1983 to 1986. 

 

Following his departure from the service, Connaughton worked for a defense contractor in Arlington, VA, and then returned to the Coast Guard as a civil servant in the Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. He attended Georgetown University on a part-time basis and received a master’s degree in 1988.

 

In 1988, Connaughton worked at the American Petroleum Institute, representing companies involved in the energy and marine transportation industries. In the evenings, he attended George Mason University School of Law and received his law degree in 1992. Later that same year, he passed the bar in Virginia.

 

Connaughton began his career in private practice in 1993, specializing in maritime and international law. He worked for Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellot. Connaughton has argued cases before the Supreme Court and published many articles on marine transportation and environmental issues. In 2000, he joined the law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP. 

 

Connaughton graduated (with honors) from the US Naval War College in 1998 and was elected chairman at-large of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors in November 1999. He was re-elected to a second four-year term, beginning January 1, 2004. In 2005, he ran for the Republican nomination for Virginia lieutenant governor, but lost. He has served on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. He resigned his elected position on September 6, 2006. 

 

Although Connaughton’s career with the Coast Guard continued from 1986 as a selected reserve, he retired in 2006.

 

After leaving the federal government, Connaughton worled as the corporate vice president of government affairs for the American Bureau of Shipping. In December 2009, the incoming Republican governor of Virginia, Robert McDonnell, chose Connaughton to be the state’s secretary of transportation.