Norbert Hofer
| Norbert Hofer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 March 1971 Vorau, Austria |
| Political party | Freedom Party |
| Alma mater | Technical College of Aviation Technology |
| Website | Parliament website |
Norbert Hofer ([ˈnɔʁbɛʁt ˈhoːfɐ]; born 2 March 1971) is an Austrian politician, member of the Freedom Party of Austria and the Third President of Austria's National Council.
Early life
Norbert Hofer grew up as the son of a local Austrian People's Party councillor in a middle class family.[1]
Hofer's hometown is Pinkafeld, Burgenland and graduated from the Technical College of Aviation Technology in Eisenstadt, as a trained aeronautical engineer.[2][1] From 1990 until 1991, Hofer served as a soldier on the Hungarian border. From 1991 till 1994 he worked as a systems engineer with 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 Joerg Haider in 2005.[1]
From 1996 to 2007, Hofer was provincial party secretary of the FPÖ Burgenland; since 2006 he is deputy provincial party chairman. He was energy and environmental speaker from 2006 to 2015, as well as the speaker for the disabled people for the FPÖ in the National Council.
Hofer became Third President of Austria's National Council on 29 October 2013. 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, and will now take part in the run-off on 22 May.[3] He ran on his promise of "putting Austria first" and won 35.1 percent of the vote.[4][1][5] The 24 April vote total was the best-ever result for the Freedom Party at federal level since 1945.[1] 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.[6] The Freedom Party has opposed the government’s original “welcoming culture” and since the summer of 2015 have led all opinion polls.[6] Hofer, the self-proclaimed Margaret Thatcher fan, campagined to dissolve Parliament in order to call new elections.[7] 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.[8]
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 French National Front; Frauke Petry of German Alternative for Germany party; Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom; and Paul Nuttall of the British UK Independence Party.[9]
Personal life
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Hofer has his main residence in southern Burgenland.[10] He is married and has four children.[10]
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 he received severe spinal injuries. After his injuries he engaged in six months of rehab, moving from a wheelchair to the use of a cane to walk.[10]
He is a gun enthusiast.[1]
He serves on the Board of Directors of Eurosolar Austria and International Sky Services AG.[11]
Election results
| Candidates (nominating parties) | 1st round (official results) | 2nd round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Norbert Hofer (Freedom Party of Austria) | 1,499,971 | 35.1 | |||
| Alexander Van der Bellen (The Greens – nominally independent) | 913,218 | 21.3 | |||
| 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 | 100.0 | ||
| Invalid votes | 92,655 | 2.1 | |||
| Total votes | 4,371,825 | 68.5 | |||
| Eligible voters | 6,382,507 | ||||
| Source: Bundesministerium für Inneres | |||||
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lamparski, Nina. Austria's Norbert Hofer: the far-right's 'soft' face, France 24, 25 April 2016.
- ↑ "Norbert Hofer, Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs". Norberthofer.at. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- ↑ Austrian far-right Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer triumphs in presidential election at abc.net.au dated 24 April 2016
- ↑ Austria far right freezes out coalition in presidency race, Cypress Mail, 25 April 2016.
- ↑ "Österreich - Bundespräsidentenwahl 2016".
- 1 2 Frey, Eric. Reflections on the political revolution in Austria, Politico, 25 April 2016.
- ↑ Hebbard, D.B. Far-right, glock carrying presidential candidate wins first round of election in Austria, TalkingNewMedia.com, 25 April 2016.
- ↑ Groendahl, Boris (26 April 2016). "Austria coalition rocked by populist party’s surge". Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ↑ Troianovski, Anton (25 April 2016). "European Right Gets Boost From Austrian Freedom Party Victory". Wall Street Journal (New York). Retrieved 25 April 2016.
From France and Germany to the U.K., euroskeptic and anti-immigrant politicians lauded Austria’s 60-year-old Freedom Party for achieving its best-ever result in a national election. Norbert Hofer, the party’s candidate for the largely ceremonial post of president in the small Alpine country, drew 35.1% of the first-round vote, more than triple what either of Austria’s two traditional mainstream parties achieved.
- 1 2 3 Nobert Hofer and spaghetti bolognese on 16/12/2011, Radio Burgenland, 16 December 2011.
- ↑ Ing. Norbert Hofer - Third President of the National Council, Republic of Austria, Parliament.
External links
Media related to Norbert Hofer at Wikimedia Commons
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