The area in which today's town of Mandal is located was not developed during the
Middle Ages. During the 1300s, a trading post called
Vester-Risør grew up along the Skogsfjorden, just west of the present-day town. The town began when King
Eric of Pomerania gave the town the right to trade
salmon. By the 1500s, Vesterrisør was a bustling port and trading centre, making it one of the oldest in Agder. In 1632, the trading post was given
ladested rights, which included special trading privileges. During the mid-1600s, the name of the town was changed to Mandal. Prior to 1653, the town was named
Vesterrisør (meaning "western Risør"). The name was originally referring to the island
Risøya outside the town, and the first element was added in the 16th century to distinguish it from the town of
Østerrisør (meaning "eastern Risør"), which is now simply called
Risør.
Municipal self-government (1838-1963) In 1838, the
formannskapsdistrikt law granted towns municipal self-government. During this time, this municipality was governed by a
municipal council of
directly elected representatives. The
mayor was
indirectly elected by a vote of the municipal council.
Mayors The
mayors () of Mandal: • 1837–1838: Anton Henrik Scheel • 1839–1841: Johan Malthe Hübert • 1842-1842: Hans Peter Erichsen • 1843-1843: Gulow Andorsen • 1844-1844: Niels Nielsen Vogt • 1845–1846: Gulow Andorsen • 1847-1847: Niels Nielsen Vogt • 1847-1847: Daniel Peter Christian Isaachsen • 1848–1852: Ole Andreas Ohlsen • 1853–1854: Niels Nielsen Vogt • 1855-1855: Svennik Svensen • 1856-1856: Thomas Madsen • 1857-1857: Carl Emil Salvesen • 1858-1858: Albert Jacobsen • 1859-1859: Edvard Hieronimus Bassøe Wattne • 1860-1860: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen • 1861–1862: Svennik Svensen • 1863–1867: Lauritz Jacobsen • 1868-1868: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen • 1869–1879: Lauritz Jacobsen • 1879–1880: Jens Henrik Beer Gundersen • 1881-1881: Hans Peter Rude • 1882–1888: Gabriel Egidius Johan Henrik Sem • 1889–1891: Hjalmar Selmer • 1892-1892: Johan Fredrik Ekholm Reymert • 1893–1899: Jens Kraft • 1900-1900: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen • 1901-1901: Adolf Paludan Ulriksen • 1902–1904: Jørgen Peter Jørgensen • 1905–1907: Torkild Tonstad • 1908–1916: Christen Andreas Christensen • 1917–1919: Kristen Schmidt • 1920–1922: Christen Andreas Christensen • 1923–1928: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud • 1929–1931: Hans Peter Tallaksen • 1932–1937: Marcus Halfdan Kastrud • 1938–1940: Johan Birger Pedersen • 1945-1945: Johan Birger Pedersen • 1946-1946: Arne Syrdahl (
Ap) • 1947-1947: Viktor Nygaard • 1948–1951: Jørgen Ørbech Bugge • 1952–1954: Viktor Nygaard • 1955-1955: Olav Gundersen • 1956–1957: Viktor Nygaard • 1959–1959: Herman Gulowsen • 1960–1963: Olav Gundersen
Municipal council The
municipal council of Mandal was made up of representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political
party. {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table {{Kommunestyre table ==Media gallery==