The STRING
Organisation
Political leadership. Administrative cooperation. Shared delivery.
One cooperation.
Many perspectives.
STRING connects its member cities and regions through political leadership and administrative cooperation.
How we work together
Political Forum
Political direction and decisions.
Steering Group
Administrative guidance and strategy.
Contact Group
Day-to-day member coordination.
The Political Forum
STRING’s highest decision-making body brings together politically elected or appointed representatives from member cities and regions to set the political agenda and strategic priorities.
Eirik Lae Solberg (H)
Governing Mayor, City of Oslo
Anette Marie Solli (H)
Governing Mayor, Akershus County
Siv Henriette Jacobsen (AP)
Majority Leader and Member of the Regional Council, Østfold County
Per Tenggren (S)
Vice-President of the Infrastructure and Public Transport Committee, Västra Götalandsregionen
Karin Pleijel (MP)
Deputy Mayor and Member of the City Executive Council, City of Gothenburg
Elisabeth Svensson-Agerbjer (C)
Regional Council Member and Chair of the Growth Committee, Halland Region
Anna Jähnke (M)
Regional Councillor, Region Skåne, and Group Leader
Christian Orsing (M)
Mayor and Chair of the Executive Commitee, City of Helsinborg
Sofia Hedén (S)
Deputy Mayor, City of Malmö
Chair of STRING
Emil Moselund Østergaard (RV)
Member of Copenhagen City Council and Group Leader
Lars Gaardhøj (S)
President of the Regional Council, The Capital Region of Denmark
Lars Lindskov (K)
Member of the Regional Council, Region Zealand
Bo Libergren (V)
Chair of the Regional Council, The Region of Southern Denmark
Otto Carstens (CDU)
State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Areas, Europe and Consumer Protection
Ulf Kämpfer (SPD)
Governing mayor, City of Kiel
Liv Assmann (SPD)
State Secretary and Plenipotentiary to the Federation, the European Union and for Foreign Affairs, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
The Steering Group
The Steering Group brings together civil servants at managerial level from member cities and regions to propose policies and strategies for the Political Forum.
Anita Lindahl Trosdahl
Chief Adviser, International Office, City of Oslo
Rune Bakkevoll
Cheif Advisor International Relations, Akershus County
Thomas André Hansen
Senior Advisor for International Affairs, Østfold County
Max Falk
Infrastructure Strategist, Västra Götalandsregionen
Magnus Sigfússon
Director for special structural issues and operations, City of Gothenburg
Ulrika Bertilsson
Vice Deputy Director of regional development, Region Halland
Maria Korner-Westin
Head of Unit external Relations, Region Skåne
Samuel Sköld
Development Director, City of Helsingborg
Angelica Nilsson
Head of Unit Society and Infrastructure, City of Helsingborg
Micael Nord
Director for Business and External Relations at the city of Malmö
Jeppe Grønholt-Pedersen
Head of Division in the Finance Department, City of Copenhagen
David Jens Meinke
Director of Regional Development, The Capital Region of Denmark
Peter Talarek-Andersen
Team Leader for Cross-Border Regional Cooperation and Attractiveness, Region Zealand
Jørgen Bjelskou
Director of Regional Development, The Region of Southern Denmark
Kaarina Williams
Head of Unit for Baltic Sea Affairs, Land Schlewswig-Holstein
Thorsten Augustin
Head of Department for European Affairs, Land Schleswig-Holstein
Wolfgang Schmidt
Head of Foreign Affairs, City of Kiel
Corinna Nienstedt
Director General of the Office to the State, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Stefanie Wodrig
Head of Unit Northern and Eastern Europe and Deputy Director for International Affairs
The Contact Group
The Contact Group works closely with the Secretariat and provides the day-to-day administrative link between STRING and its members.
Anita Lindahl Trosdahl
Chief Adviser, International Office, City of Oslo
Martine Matre Bonarjee
International advisor, Akershus Fylkeskommune
Thomas André Hansen
Senior Advisor for International Affairs, Østfold County
Josef Gustafsson
Regional Developer, Västra Götalandsregionen
Cecilia Örtendahl
Head of Urban Development, City Hall, City of Gothenburg
Ulrika Bertilsson
Vice Deputy Director of Regional Development, Region Halland
Carin Peters
Business Development, Region Skåne
Sofie Qvarfordt
International Coordinator, City of Helsingborg
Jarl Zinn
Senior Advisor at the Finance Department, City of Copenhagen
Eva Christina Jacobsen
Special Consultant at Centre for Regional Development, Captial Region of Denmark
Hanne Edelweiss Beckert
Chief Consultant at Centre for Regional Development, Region Zealand
Peter Kristoffer Reese Rødbro
Development Consultant, Office for Danish-German and International Cooperation
Susanne Grahl
Advisor at Unit for Baltic Sea Affairs, Land Schleswig-Holstein
Cathrin Truckenbrodt
Project Manager, Dept. of Economic Development, City of Kiel
Stefanie Wodrig
Head of Baltic Affairs Desk, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Katharina Hinz
The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Working Groups
Working Groups bring together members and the Secretariat around agreed themes and projects, developing ideas and supporting the delivery of STRING’s priorities.
The Secretariat
The Secretariat supports implementation and cooperation. Led by the Managing Director, the team connects public, private and academic stakeholders and advances STRING’s work.
Built on
cross-border cooperation.
STRING (South Western Baltic Sea Transregional Area – Implementing New Geography) began as an EU Interreg A project to stimulate the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.
Following the 2008 treaty between Germany and Denmark, the cooperation broadened towards regional development, further infrastructure projects and green growth across Western Scandinavia and Northern Germany.