Norbert Gerwald Hofer (; born 2 March 1971) is an Austrian politician who served as Leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) from June 2019 to June 2021. He previously was Minister for 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. Early life and education 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. Political career 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. Austrian presidential election, 2016 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. He ran on his promise of "putting Austria first" and received the highest