Norbert Gerwald Hofer (German pronunciation: ; born 2 March 1971) is an Austrian politician, a member of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) and since 18 December 2017 the Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology. He was the Third President of the National Council from 2013 to 2017.
Hofer was narrowly defeated as a candidate for President of Austria in the 2016 election. He received the plurality of votes, 35% as opposed to 21% of rival Alexander Van der Bellen, in the first round. The much closer results of the second round of voting (49.7%/50.3%) were annulled by the Constitutional Court due to voting irregularities affecting nearly 78,000 votes, requiring the election to be re-held. In the re-run on 4 December 2016 he received 46% of the vote and conceded the election to Van der Bellen.
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.