Norbert Hofer

Hofer was born in Vorau, Austria, the son of a local Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) councillor and electric power station director. He was raised in a middle-class family in Pinkafeld, Burgenland.

He finished secondary school at the HTBLA Eisenstadt with specialization in aeronautics. From 1990 until 1991, Hofer fulfilled his military service. From 1991 until 1994 he worked as an aeronautical engineer at Lauda Air Engineering.

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Hofer worked his way up the ranks of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and became a close advisor to Heinz-Christian Strache, who took over the leadership of the Freedom Party from Jörg Haider in 2005.

From 1996 to 2007, Hofer was provincial party secretary of the FPÖ in Burgenland and, from 1997 to 2007, council member of the City of Eisenstadt. Since 2006 he has been deputy regional party chairman. From 2008 to 2012, Hofer served as vice president for Burgenland of the Österreichischer Zivilinvalidenverband. He was energy and environmental speaker from 2006 to 2015, as well as FPÖ spokesman for the disabled in the National Council.

Hofer became Third President of Austria's National Council on 29 October 2013. He succeeded Martin Graf in this function.

On 28 January 2016, the FPÖ presented him as its candidate for the 2016 presidential elections. He won the first round of the election, held on 24 April. He placed close second in a neck-and-neck race with Alexander Van der Bellen, the former Green Party spokesman.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-25/austrian-far-right-triumphs-in-presidential-election/7354406 Austrian far-right Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer triumphs in presidential election] at abc.net.au dated 24 April 2016

He ran on his promise of "putting Austria first" and received the highest number of votes in the first round with 35.1 percent, putting him in a runoff.Lamparski, Nina. [http://www.france24.com/en/20160425-austrias-norbert-hofer-far-rights-soft-face Austria's Norbert Hofer: the far-right's 'soft' face], France 24, 25 April 2016. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426055803/http://www.france24.com/en/20160425-austrias-norbert-hofer-far-rights-soft-face |date=26 April 2016 }}[http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/04/25/austria-far-right-freezes-out-coalition-in-presidency-race/ Austria far right freezes out coalition in presidency race], Cypress Mail, 25 April 2016.{{cite web|url=http://wahl16.bmi.gv.at/|title=Österreich – Bundespräsidentenwahl 2016}} 24 April vote total was the best-ever result for the Freedom Party at federal level since 1956. Hofer benefited from the recent migrant crisis, where around 90,000 migrants applied for asylum in Austria, straining the country's resources and public empathy.Frey, Eric. [http://www.politico.eu/article/austria-far-right-election-president-norbert-hofer-bellen-faymann/ Reflections on the political revolution in Austria], Politico, 25 April 2016. The Freedom Party had opposed the government's original "welcoming culture" and during the summer of 2015 began to lead opinion polls.

Hofer campaigned to dissolve Parliament in order to call new elections.Hebbard, D.B. [http://polimedia.press/2016/04/25/far-right-glock-carrying-presidential-candidate-wins-first-round-of-election-in-austria/ "Far-right, glock carrying presidential candidate wins first round of election in Austria"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503012814/http://polimedia.press/2016/04/25/far-right-glock-carrying-presidential-candidate-wins-first-round-of-election-in-austria/ |date=3 May 2016 }}, TalkingNewMedia.com/polimedia.press, 25 April 2016. During the campaign he also stated that he would refuse to approve certain laws, such as a planned free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, and that he may attend, along with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, EU summits.{{cite news |last=Groendahl |first=Boris |date=26 April 2016 |title=Austria coalition rocked by populist party's surge |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2016/04/25/austria-coalition-rocked-populist-party-surge/bGAOTUylw1NPhuizyvYr3M/story.html |newspaper=Boston Globe |access-date=26 April 2016 }}

Right-wing parties and politicians across Western Europe celebrated Hofer's first-place finish. Those parties and politicians included: Marine Le Pen of France's National Front; Frauke Petry of Alternative for Germany; Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom; and Matteo Salvini of Italy's Lega Nord.{{cite news|last=Troianovski|first=Anton|author-link=Anton Troianovski|date=25 April 2016|title=European Right Gets Boost From Austrian Freedom Party Victory|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|location=Berlin|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/european-right-gets-boost-from-austrian-freedom-party-victory-1461598555|url-access=subscription|access-date=25 April 2016}}

File:20161204 Bundespräsidentenwahl 5021.jpg during a debate (December 2016).]]

The second round election was held on 22 May 2016, with 49.7% of votes cast for Hofer while Van der Bellen, his opponent, received 50.3%,{{cite news |date=23 May 2016 |title=Left-winger van der Bellen wins Austrian presidential election |url=http://www.thelocal.at/20160523/left-winger-van-der-bellen-wins-austrian-presidential-election-beating-far-right |newspaper=The Local |access-date=23 May 2016}} – a margin of victory of only 30,863. Evidence was subsequently presented to the Constitutional Court of Austria that approximately 78,000 absentee ballots were improperly counted too early, which theoretically could have influenced or altered the outcome. Consequently, on 1 July, the Court annulled the second round results and thereby precluded Van der Bellen being sworn into office, and ordered the election be re-run.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/01/austrian-presidential-election-result-overturned-and-must-be-held-again-hofer-van-der-bellen|title=Austrian presidential election result overturned and must be held again|last1=Oltermann|first1=Philip|date=1 July 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 July 2016}} Incumbent president Heinz Fischer left office on 8 July, and so the three presidents of the National Council – Doris Bures (Social Democratic Party of Austria), Karlheinz Kopf (ÖVP) and Hofer – became joint acting presidents of Austria.{{cite news|last = Tasch|first = Barbara|title = An Austrian court just overturned the presidential election narrowly lost by a far-right candidate|url = https://www.businessinsider.com/austrian-court-just-overturns-presidential-election-narrowly-lost-by-a-far-right-candidate-2016-7|access-date = 1 July 2016|newspaper = International Business Times|date = 1 July 2016}}

The Court-ordered election was held on 4 December 2016, with Van der Bellen again emerging as the victor.{{cite news|title = Austria far-right candidate Norbert Hofer defeated in presidential poll|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38202669|newspaper = BBC Online|date = 4 December 2016|access-date = 4 December 2016}} Despite predictions that election fatigue and cold temperatures would lead to a reduction in participation, voter turnout actually increased from 72.7% in May to 73.8%;{{cite news|title = Austria rejects far-right candidate Norbert Hofer in presidential election|first = Philip|last = Oltermann|date = 5 December 2016|access-date = 5 December 2016|newspaper = The Guardian|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/far-right-party-concedes-defeat-in-austrian-presidential-election}} expectations for a similarly close result also proved wrong, with the margin of victory for Van der Bellen increasing by approximately a factor of ten as he was supported by around 53.3% of voters. Hofer conceded soon after the first exit polls were reported, posting on Facebook: "I congratulate Alexander Van der Bellen for his success and ask all Austrians to pull together and work together" and added that he "would have liked to look after Austria" and confirmed his intention to run again in 2022. His campaign manager, Herbert Kickl, who is also the secretary of the Freedom party, attributed the defeat to "the establishment – which pitched in once again to block, to stonewall and to prevent renewal." Hofer remained as joint acting president until Van der Bellen was sworn into office on 26 January 2017.{{cite news|title = Autriche. Van der Bellen président: un soulagement face au populisme|first = Danielle|last = Renon|language = fr|url = http://www.courrierinternational.com/article/autriche-van-der-bellen-president-un-soulagement-face-au-populisme|date = 4 December 2016|access-date = 5 December 2016|newspaper = Courrier International}} Political scientist Farid Hafez argued that nevertheless, it was a huge success for the FPÖ and Norbert Hofer to reach 47% of the votes, while normally, the FPÖ reaches up to 30% at most at a national parliamentary election.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUAvH3F9Tu0|title=Austria Election: Far-right loses despite strong support|via=www.youtube.com}}

The FPÖ performed well in the 2017 Austrian legislative election, and it formed a government coalition with the Austrian People's Party. Hofer was chosen to lead the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology.{{cite web | title=Organisation Chart | url=https://www.bmvit.gv.at/en/ministerium/downloads/chart.pdf | publisher= Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology | access-date=22 January 2018}}{{cite news | last1=Oltermann | first1=Philip | title=Muted Protests in Vienna as Far-Right Ministers Enter Austria's Government | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/thousands-protest-as-far-right-ministers-enter-government-in-austria | date=18 December 2017 | newspaper=The Guardian | access-date=22 January 2018}}

Hofer serves on the board of directors of Eurosolar Austria,[http://www.eurosolar.at/&prev=search "board"], eurosolar.at Retrieved 15 May 2016. has served on the boards of Mapjet AG (2010–2011) and International Sky Services AG (2011–2012) and was executive chairman of PAF private trust

(2011–2012).[https://www.parlament.gv.at/ENGL/WWER/NR/Hofer/index.shtml Ing. Norbert Hofer – Third President of the National Council], Republic of Austria, Parliament.

Most mainstream press sources describe Hofer as "far-right".{{Cite news |last=Oltermann |first=Philip |title=Austria rejects far-right candidate Norbert Hofer in presidential election |date=4 December 2016 |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/04/far-right-party-concedes-defeat-in-austrian-presidential-election |access-date=5 December 2016}}{{cite news |title=Austria far-right candidate Norbert Hofer defeated in presidential poll |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38202669 |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}} Writer Michael Toner of the centrist online news publication International Business Times referred to Hofer as a neo-fascist.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Laura |title=From Italy to Brexit hearing: Are we witnessing the end of the EU? |website=International Business Times |url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/from-italy-to-brexit-hearing-are-we-witnessing-the-end-of-the-eu/ar-AAlakFS?li=AAdeCd7&ocid=spartanntp |access-date=5 December 2016}} However, other media outlets and political commentators have referred to Hofer as the face of the more moderate wing of the FPÖ and less hard-line compared to former party leader Heinz-Christian Strache.{{Cite news |last=Wolkenstein |first=Fabio |title=Norbert Hofer, the friendly face of Austria's populist right |date=11 October 2016 |website=LSE |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/10/11/norbert-hofer-friendly-face-populist-right/ |access-date=16 July 2019}}{{Cite news |last=Zappei |first=Julia |title=Norbert Hofer: the new 'friendly face' of Austria's far-right |date=19 May 2019 |website=Yahoo News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/norbert-hofer-friendly-face-austrias-far-201517125.html|access-date=16 July 2019}}[https://www.euronews.com/2016/05/20/norbert-hofer-the-friendly-face-of-austria-s-far-right-freedom-party] at Euronews.com dated 20 May 2016

Hofer himself has stated that he is not a nationalist but a patriot, and that the FPÖ is not an extreme-right movement but "a centre-right party with a high degree of social responsibility.”{{Cite news |last=Borchard |first=Ralf |title=Der FPÖ-Kandidat, der kein Rechtspopulist sein will |date=8 November 2016 |website=ARD |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/oesterreich-hofer-101.html}}[https://www.euronews.com/2016/05/24/austria-s-freedom-party-not-far-right-says-norbert-hofer] at Euronews.com dated 24 May 2016 He has also cited former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as one of his political influences.{{Cite news |last=Foster |first=Alice |title=Who is Norbert Hofer? The Austrian who could become the EU's first far-right head of state|date=3 December 2016 |website=Express.co.uk |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/672897/who-is-Norbert-Hofer-Austria-far-right-president-election-anti-immigrant-head-of-state-EU|access-date=16 July 2019}}

In February 2015, Hofer proposed that South Tyrol, an autonomous German-speaking province administered by Italy and formerly part of Austria-Hungary, should be absorbed into Austria.{{cite news|last1=Oltermann|first1=Philip|title=Norbert Hofer: is Austria's presidential hopeful a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/19/norbert-hofer-austria-presidential-hopeful-rightwing|access-date=2 July 2016|work=The Guardian|date=19 May 2016}} In 2016, Hofer stated that he would want Austria to hold a referendum on its membership of the European Union if the European Parliament were to assume more powers or if Turkey acceded to the bloc.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Hofer has also defended the right to gun ownership.

Hofer stated that the Quran was more dangerous than COVID-19 during a speech held at a 2020 campaign event. As a result, he was sued for hate-speech.{{cite news |url=https://kurier.at/chronik/wien/koran-gefaehrlicher-als-corona-muslime-zeigen-norbert-hofer-an/400942760 |title=Koran gefährlicher als Corona {{!}} Muslime zeigen Norbert Hofer an|newspaper=Kurier}}

File:2014 Norbert Hofer (15593676298) (cropped).jpg

Hofer is in his second marriage and has four children – two daughters, Anna-Sophie and Vivien and two sons, Yanik and Jeremie.{{Cite web|url=https://www.krone.at/504660|title=Hofers im Talk: "Bei Haschisch gäbe es Hausarrest"|website=Kronen Zeitung|date=9 April 2016 }} He was raised as a Catholic but converted to Protestantism; his wife and children are Catholic.{{cite news|title=Austria Protestant leaders slam Hofer over 'God' slogan|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37749825|access-date=24 October 2016|work=BBC News|date=24 October 2016}} His main residence is in southern Burgenland.

Hofer is an honorary member of the conservative school fraternity (pennal-conservative Burschenschaft) Marko-Germania zu Pinkafeld and an honorary knight of the Order of St. George.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

In August 2003 Hofer crashed a paraglider in Stubenberg and received severe spinal injuries. He engaged in six months of rehabilitation, moving from a wheelchair to the use of a cane to walk.[https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=de&u=http://burgenland.orf.at/radio/stories/2513261/&usg=ALkJrhhIWZfDiGt4e-L-EosQ9evurcSGRg Nobert Hofer and spaghetti bolognese on 16/12/2011], Radio Burgenland, 16 December 2011.

He is a gun enthusiast and carries a Glock handgun.{{cite news|last1=Henley|first1=Jon|title=Who are the two men who competed to be Austria's next president?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/who-are-men-competing-austrias-next-president-norbert-hofer-alexander-van-der-bellen|access-date=2 July 2016|work=The Guardian|date=23 May 2016}}

In addition to his native German, Hofer also speaks English.{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/737742/Austria-Norbert-Hofer-right-wing-populist-Russia-Vladimir-Putin|title=Austria in new alliance with PUTIN? Nobert Hofer turns to Russia as Merkel has DAMAGED EU|first=Simon|last=Osborne|date=29 November 2016|website=Express.co.uk}}

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