Born in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Martin used to work for the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel. As a freelance writer, he has written and co-authored several books, among them The Global Trap: Globalization and the Assault on Prosperity and Democracy (Die Globalisierungsfalle, 1996) and Bitter Pills (Bittere Pillen) about the pros and cons of pharmaceuticals.

In the 1999 European Parliament elections Martin was the leader of the Austrian Social Democratic faction. However, his individualistic workstyle and his proclivity for muckraking soon led to alienation from, and a complete break with, that party.

Early in 2004 he accused MEPs of dishonesty concerning the reimbursement of travelling expenses. Martin claimed that actual costs were considerably lower than the money each MEP is entitled to, and that waste of public money had to be stopped. His work colleagues conceded that Martin had a point but were opposed to his aggressive, investigative methods.

Also in 2004, Hans-Peter Martin founded his own party, "Hans-Peter Martin's List -- For genuine control in Brussels" (Liste Dr. Hans-Peter Martin -- Für echte Kontrolle in Brüssel). In the 2004 elections he received a very surprising 14 per cent of the vote -- more than the Greens or the Austrian Freedom Party -- and gained two seats for Austria in the European Parliament. His number two is Karin Resetarits (born 1961), a former journalist with both the ORF and a private radio station.