Norbert Hofer

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Norbert Hofer
File:NorbertHofer2016.jpg
Third President of the National Council
Assumed office
29 October 2013
Preceded by Martin Graf
Personal details
Born Norbert Gerwald Hofer
(1971-03-02) 2 March 1971 (age 53)
Vorau, Austria
Political party Freedom Party
Spouse(s) Verena Elfriede Maria Malus
Children 4
Alma mater HTBLA Eisenstadt
Website Parliament website

Norbert Gerwald Hofer[1] (German pronunciation: [ˈnɔʁbɛʁt ˈhoːfɐ]; born 2 March 1971) is an Austrian politician and member of the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria.

Hofer was a candidate for President of Austria in the 2016 election. He received a plurality of votes in the first round and lost to Alexander Van der Bellen in the run-off.

Early life, education

Hofer is the son of a local Austrian People's Party councillor and electric power station director in a middle class family in Pinkafeld, Burgenland.[2]

He graduated from the Technical College of Aviation Technology in Eisenstadt as a trained aeronautical engineer.[2][3] From 1990 until 1991, Hofer served as a soldier[4] on the Hungarian border. From 1991 until 1994 he worked as an aeronautical engineer at Lauda Air Engineering.

Political career and position

Hofer worked his way up the ranks of the Freedom Party and became a close advisor to Heinz-Christian Strache, who took over the leadership of the Freedom Party from Jörg Haider in 2005.[2]

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.[4] 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.[4] He succeeded Martin Graf in this function.

Austrian presidential election, 2016

On 28 January 2016, the Freedom Party of Austria 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.[5]

He ran on his promise of "putting Austria first" and won the first round with 35.1 percent of the vote.[6][2][7] The 24 April vote total was the best-ever result for the Freedom Party at federal level since 1945.[2] Hofer, in the 24 April vote, benefited from the recent migrant crisis, where around 90,000 migrants applied for asylum in Austria, straining the country’s resources and public empathy.[8] The Freedom Party have opposed the government’s original “welcoming culture” and since the summer of 2015 have led all opinion polls.[8] Hofer, a self-proclaimed Margaret Thatcher fan, campaigned to dissolve Parliament in order to call new elections.[9] 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.[10]

Right-wing parties and politicians across Europe celebrated Hofer's first place finish in the first round of voting on 24 April. Those parties and politicians included: Marine Le Pen of France's National Front; Frauke Petry of Alternative for Germany party; Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom; and Matteo Salvini of Italy's Lega Nord.[11]

On 22 May 2016, Hofer lost the second round of voting to Alexander Van der Bellen by 50.3% to 49.7%.[12]

Private career

Hofer serves on the Board of Directors of Eurosolar Austria,[13] 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).[4]

Personal life

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

Hofer has his main residence in southern Burgenland.[14] He is in his second marriage and has four children.[14]

He is an honorary member of the conservative school fraternity (pennal-conservative Burschenschaft) Marko-Germania zu Pinkafeld and a honorary knight of the Order of St. George.

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.[14]

He is a gun enthusiast.[2]

He serves on the Board of Directors of Eurosolar Austria and International Sky Services AG.[4]

Election results

e • d Summary of the 2016 Austrian presidential election results
Candidates (party membership) 1st round (official results) 2nd round (preliminary results)
Votes % Votes %
Norbert Hofer (Freedom Party of Austria) 1,499,971 35.1 2,223,458 49.7
Alexander Van der Bellen (The Greens) 913,218 21.3 2,254,484 50.3
Irmgard Griss (independent) 810,641 18.9
Rudolf Hundstorfer (Social Democratic Party of Austria) 482,790 11.3
Andreas Khol (Austrian People's Party) 475,767 11.1
Richard Lugner (independent) 96,783 2.3
Valid votes 4,279,170 100.0 4,477,942 100.0
Invalid votes 92,655 2.1 165,212 3.6
Total votes 4,371,825 68.5 4,643,154 72.7
Eligible voters 6,382,507
Source: Bundesministerium für Inneres

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lamparski, Nina. Austria's Norbert Hofer: the far-right's 'soft' face, France 24, 25 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Ing. Norbert Hofer - Third President of the National Council, Republic of Austria, Parliament.
  5. ↑ Austrian far-right Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer triumphs in presidential election at abc.net.au dated 24 April 2016
  6. ↑ Austria far right freezes out coalition in presidency race, Cypress Mail, 25 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Frey, Eric. Reflections on the political revolution in Austria, Politico, 25 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Hebbard, D.B. "Far-right, glock carrying presidential candidate wins first round of election in Austria", TalkingNewMedia.com/polimedia.press, 25 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "board", eurosolar.at via Google Translate. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Nobert Hofer and spaghetti bolognese on 16/12/2011, Radio Burgenland, 16 December 2011.

External links

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