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Sissel Knutsen Hegdal

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Sissel Knutsen Hegdal
Mayor of Stavanger
In office
23 October 2023 – 14 October 2024
DeputyHenrik Halleland
Preceded byKari Nessa Nordtun
Succeeded byTormod W. Losnedal
Deputy Member of the Storting
In office
1 October 2009 – 30 September 2017
ConstituencyRogaland
Personal details
Born (1965-11-20) 20 November 1965 (age 59)
Harstad, Troms, Norway
Political partyConservative (formerly)
Children3

Sissel Knutsen Hegdal (born 20 November 1965) is a Norwegian politician and lawyer formerly for the Conservative Party. She served as the mayor of Stavanger between 2023 and 2024, and was previously a deputy member of parliament for Rogaland between 2009 and 2017.

Political career

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Parliament

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She served as a deputy representative to the Storting from Rogaland from 2009 to 2017.[1]

Local politics

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She has been a member of Stavanger city council since 2007.[2]

In 2021, she became the Stavanger Conservatives' mayoral candidate for the 2023 local elections.[3]

Mayor of Stavanger

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Election

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Despite the opposing Labour Party becoming the largest party in Stavanger following the election, the Conservative led bloc inched out a majority together with the Progress Party, Liberal Party, Christian Democrats and the Pensioners' Party, with Hegdal as mayor and the Christian Democrats' Henrik Halleland as deputy mayor.[4] The parties signed a cooperation agreement on 18 October.[5] Hegdal and Helland were confirmed by the municipal council on 23 October and assumed office the same day.[6]

Party funds controversy

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She resigned as mayor with immediate effect on 4 September 2024 after it was revealed that she had misused party funds for private purposes during the 2023 election campaign.[7] She also went on sick leave following her resignation, with deputy mayor Henrik Halleland taking over as acting mayor in the interim.[8] The Conservative Party on a national level encouraged the local chapter in Stavanger to report Hegdal to the police, something they refused to do. The national party also sent over documents to the police related to Hegdal's case. The police also didn't rule out opening a criminal case against her, which they eventually did the day after her resignation.[9][10]

Due to the local government act stipulating that a mayor doesn't formally resign until an exception has been granted by the local council, Hegdal was in theory still formally mayor. She had not requested an exception from the local council a week after her resignation and even asserted that she was still mayor.[11] She gave her statement to the police on 27 September.[12] The police closed their investigation on 25 October.[13]

Hegdal later attended a meeting on 12 September with her local party chapter to discuss her situation. According to NRK, Hegdal was said to be cross with the national party, who she deemed to have pressured her in the last two weeks, furthermore calling their behaviour "unacceptable". Following the meeting, the local chapter announced that they had unanimously agreed to oust Hegdal and would begin the process of finding a new mayoral candidate in time for the council meeting on 14 October. Hegdal was later reported to have resigned her party membership aswell, leaving the coalition one seat short of a majority.[14][15]

She formally applied for an exception from her position on 13 September.[16] However, in early October the municipal director rejected her request after it was slightly reworded. The majority parties still expressed their intent to select a new mayor at the 14 October council meeting, but both them and the opposition parties remained uncertain about how to vote for Hegdal's exception given the municipal director's rejection of her application.[17] By 9 October, a broad number of the parties from the coalition and opposition, had decided not to approve Hegdal's exception on 14 October, citing that it wasn't sufficient with what the local goveremnt act demanded.[18] Hegdal layer stated that she would amend her exception application so that it could be approved, which the coalition and opposition parties stated that they would support.[19]

Tormod W. Losnedal was seen as the frontrunner to replace her and the local chapter officially confirmed on 1 October that he would be their nominee to replace Hegdal as mayor.[20] He succeeded her on 14 October after her exception from the position was granted by the municipal council.[21]

Personal life

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Hegdal is originally from Harstad in Troms. She has two older siblings. She moved to Stavanger in 1992 after finishing her studies to become a lawyer. She is married and has three children.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Sissel Knutsen Hegdal" (in Norwegian). Storting.
  2. ^ "Sissel Knutsen Hegdal" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Conservative Party.
  3. ^ "Nå er hun offisielt Stavanger Høyre sin ordførerkandidat" (in Norwegian). Øyposten. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Disse skal styre Stavanger de neste fire årene" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Det nye flertallet har signert avtale: Slik blir Stavanger de neste fire årene" (in Norwegian). Dagsavisen. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Nå er Sissel Knutsen Hegdal ordfører i Stavanger" (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Stavanger Aftenblad: Ordføreren i Stavanger går av" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Hvorfor går ordføreren i Stavanger av, og hva skjer videre?" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Høyre oversender dokumenter til politiet i ordfører-saken" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Verdens Gang. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Politiet oppretter sak mot Sissel Knudsen Hegdal" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Stavanger-ordfører sa hun trakk seg: – Jeg er ordfører" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Nettavisen. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Sissel Knutsen Hegdal har forklart seg for politiet" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Politiet har henlagt saken mot Sissel Knutsen Hegdal: – Fullstendig renvaskelse" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Bystyregruppa ønsker at Knutsen Hegdal går av som ordførar. I kveld har ho meldt seg ut av partiet" (in Norwegian Nynorsk). NRK Rogaland. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Fungerende ordfører i Stavanger: – Nå må det ryddes opp" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Hegdal søker om fritak i dag" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Vil ikke frita Sissel Knutsen Hegdal fra ordførervervet" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Verdens Gang. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Politisk drama: Samarbeidspartier vil ikke godta fritakssøknaden" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Stavanger-ordføreren endrer søknaden om fritak: – Lei meg" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Tormod Losnedal er ny ordførerkandidat i Stavanger" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Sissel Knutsen Hegdal er fritatt som ordfører i Stavanger: Losnedal er ny ordfører" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK Rogaland. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Tellingen ferdig i Stavanger: Harstadværing blir ordfører" (in Norwegian). iHarstad. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Stavanger
2023–2024 		Succeeded by
Tormod W. Losnedal
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