Robert Hochbaum is a politician of theChristian Democratic Union, one of the twobig-tent political parties in Germany. He was a member of theBundestag from 2002 to 2017, by consecutively winning theVogtlandkreis electoral district ofSaxony in the federal elections of2002,2005,2009 and2013.[1][2]
Hochbaum was born inPforzheim,Baden-Württemberg on 5 June 1954. He joined the CDU in 1983, and became member the connectedChristian Democratic Employees' Association in 1985. In 1982, he started working at theBundesagentur für Arbeit, the Federal Employment Agency of Germany and became head of the job center inAuerbach (Vogtland) in 1991. He temporarily served in theBundeswehr and is now a reserve officer.[1][2]
He was a member of the Defense Committee, and chairman of the sub-committee "Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation" from 2005, saying that "Disarmament or arms control and the problem of the spread of chemical and nuclear weapons are playing an increasingly important role worldwide. The developments in Syria, North Korea and Iran, for example, demonstrate this very clearly. The current situation in Crimea and Ukraine also illustrate how quickly crises can arise and how important confidence-building measures remain, which are also part of our work."[1][3]
Hochbaum, an evangelical Christian, is in his second marriage. He has three children from the first marriage.[1][2]