Christine Sagen Helgø has been the mayor of Stavanger since the regional election of October 2011, representing the Conservative Party of Norway, Høyre (re-elected in 2015). She has a law degree from the University of Bergen.

The Mayor is also chair of the board of the Stavanger Region European Office, Greater Stavanger Economic development, the Port of Stavanger and the University Fund.

In the 2014-2016 term, she served as president of World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP), which is a network of 19 cities that are globally recognized as international energy capitals, among them Houston, Aberdeen, Rio de Janeiro, Kuala Lumpur, Doha and Perth.

Mayor Helgø has throughout her time in office had smart cities as one of her main focus areas. As the Norwegian energy capital, the Stavanger region were especially affected by the falling oil prices. Stavanger have therefore worked systematically for several years to widening thescope of our economic development. She has also a great involvement in diversity. With 22 percent of the inhabitants with an origin outside Norway and 189 nationalities, Stavanger is one of the most international regions of Norway and has long traditions of hosting labor immigrants as well as refugee’s settlement.