When you walk through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, you’re walking through a legacy defined by two men who couldn’t have been more different, yet both fundamentally "made" modern Atlanta. Most people just want to catch their flight. They don't think about the fact that this city has been shaped by a list of Atlanta mayors that reads like a playbook for urban survival, racial reckoning, and massive economic bets.
Atlanta wasn't always the "City Too Busy to Hate." Honestly, it was a small railroad terminus called Marthasville before it became the powerhouse it is today. Since 1848, 61 people have held the gavel. Some were visionaries. Others were, frankly, just keeping the seat warm. But the ones who mattered? They changed the South forever.
The Early Days and the One-Year Sprint
The very first name on the list of Atlanta mayors is Moses Formwalt. He took office in 1848. Back then, being mayor was a short-term gig—literally. You got one year. That was it. You barely had time to move into your office before the next guy was knocking on the door.
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Imagine trying to build a city when your "long-term plan" is only 12 months long. It was chaotic. This one-year rule stuck around until 1875. That's when Cicero C. Hammock—a guy with a name you can't make up—saw his second term extended to two years thanks to a new city charter.
It wasn't until 1929 that the city finally settled on the four-year terms we use today. Isaac N. Ragsdale was the lucky first mayor to get that kind of breathing room. Before that, the mayor’s office was basically a revolving door of businessmen and lawyers trying to figure out how to keep the trains running.
The Titans Who Built the "Gate City"
If you look at the list of Atlanta mayors through the mid-20th century, two names loom larger than life: William B. Hartsfield and Ivan Allen Jr.
Hartsfield is the reason you probably flew into Atlanta to get here. He served for six terms—nearly 30 years in total. He was obsessed with aviation. People thought he was crazy for building an airport on an abandoned racetrack, but he knew the "Gate City" needed wings, not just tracks. He also steered the city through the early tremors of the Civil Rights Movement with a pragmatism that focused on economic growth over total social collapse.
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Then came Ivan Allen Jr. in 1962.
On his very first day, he did something radical for a Southern politician: he ordered the "Whites Only" signs removed from City Hall.
He was the only white Southern mayor to testify in favor of the Civil Rights Act before Congress.
Risky? Absolutely.
But he knew segregation was bad for business.
The Shift to the "Black Mecca"
1974 changed everything. Maynard Jackson became the first Black mayor of Atlanta, and honestly, the first Black mayor of any major Southern city.
Jackson was a force of nature. He didn't just want Black people to have the vote; he wanted them to have the "buck." He famously locked horns with the white business elite to ensure that minority-owned businesses got a slice of the airport expansion contracts. At the time, minority participation was sitting at a pathetic 1%. Jackson pushed it to 35%.
He served two consecutive terms, stepped away, and then came back in 1990 for a third. Between his stints, Andrew Young—the former UN Ambassador and close confidant of MLK—took the reins. Young brought the world to Atlanta. He was the diplomat. He helped secure the 1996 Olympics, a move that solidified Atlanta as a global player.
The Modern Era and Recent Headlines
Since the 1970s, every single person on the list of Atlanta mayors has been Black and, officially or unofficially, a Democrat.
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- Bill Campbell (1994–2002): Presided over the Olympics but later faced legal troubles that clouded his legacy.
- Shirley Franklin (2002–2010): The first woman to lead the city. They called her "La骨-and-Water" because she spent billions fixing the city's crumbling sewer system. It wasn't glamorous, but it saved the city.
- Kasim Reed (2010–2018): A powerhouse who focused on the city's "AAA" bond rating and revitalized the Ponce City Market area.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms (2018–2022): Led the city through the double-whammy of a global pandemic and the social unrest of 2020. She became a national voice during some of the city's darkest hours.
Where Atlanta Stands in 2026
Right now, Andre Dickens is the 61st Mayor of Atlanta. He just started his second term in January 2026 after a decisive re-election. Dickens has a different vibe—he’s a Georgia Tech engineer by trade.
His first term was about "Moving Atlanta Forward." He’s obsessed with the "Pothole Posse" and public safety. Interestingly, under his watch, the city saw homicides drop below 100 in 2025 for the first time in years. He also killed the movement to have Buckhead secede from the city, which could have been a financial disaster.
A Quick Cheat Sheet of Recent Mayors
| Mayor | Term | Major Legacy Item |
|---|---|---|
| Maynard Jackson | 1974-82, 90-94 | Minority business contracts & Airport |
| Andrew Young | 1982-1990 | Internationalizing the city & Olympics bid |
| Shirley Franklin | 2002-2010 | "Sewer Mayor" & Financial transparency |
| Keisha Lance Bottoms | 2018-2022 | COVID-19 response & National profile |
| Andre Dickens | 2022-Present | Affordable housing & "One Safe City" |
Why the List of Atlanta Mayors Still Matters
You might think a list of names is just trivia. It’s not.
In Atlanta, the mayor has an incredible amount of power compared to other cities. They control the airport budget, which is a literal gold mine. They set the tone for race relations in the entire South. When the mayor of Atlanta speaks, the world actually listens because this city is the economic engine of the region.
If you’re looking to understand where the city is going, you have to look at the patterns of the people who led it. We’ve gone from railroad tycoons to civil rights icons to technocrats.
Actionable Insights for Following Atlanta Politics:
- Watch the Airport: Any mention of Hartsfield-Jackson in the news is usually a proxy for a power struggle. The mayor who controls the airport controls the city’s influence.
- Track the Bond Ratings: Atlanta prides itself on financial stability. Mayor Dickens’ focus on the AAA bond rating is a signal to investors that the city is a safe bet, despite national economic shifts.
- Monitor the BeltLine: This massive urban redevelopment project is the "new airport" in terms of political legacy. Every mayor for the next 20 years will be judged by how they handle the gentrification and transit issues surrounding it.
- Check the "City Charter": Whenever you hear talk of term limits or changing the mayor's powers, refer back to the charter changes of 1875 and 1929. The rules of the game are always being tweaked.
Atlanta is a city that’s constantly reinventing itself. From the ashes of the Civil War to the tech hub of 2026, the people on this list have been the ones holding the matches—and the fire extinguishers.