Norbert Hofer

Norbert Gerwald Hofer (Austrian German: [ˈnɔrbɛrt ˈhoːfɐ]; born 2 March 1971) is an Austrian politician who was the leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) from June 2019 to June 2021. He previously served as minister of transport, innovation, and technology from 2017 to 2019 under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Hofer served as third president of the National Council from 2013 to 2017. He was his party's candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Hofer won the first round, receiving 35.1%, but was defeated by The Greens' candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, 53.8% against 46.2%, in the final runoff (an earlier runoff was invalidated). He later served as Minister for Transport in the first Kurz government from 2017 to 2019. He became Leader of the Freedom Party in September 2019, after holding the office in an acting capacity from May to September 2019. He stepped down as party leader in 2021 after losing a power struggle with Herbert Kickl.