Mangård was born on 21 January 1917 in Västerås, Sweden, the son of Carl Mangård, an editor, and his wife Märtha. His brother was the jugde Nils Mangård who late became chairman of the National Board for Consumer Complaints. He passed studentexamen in Västerås in 1936 and started his flight training at the Swedish Air Force Flying School in Ljungbyhed where he graduated at the top of his class as a fighter pilot. Mangård was commissioned into the Swedish Air Force as fänrik in 1939. He did not leave Ljungbyhed but stayed another couple of years and trained to become a flight instructor. Mangård was promoted to lieutenant in 1941 and to captain in 1946 after passing the General Course at the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College. He then passed the Staff Course from 1946 to 1947. Mangård was promoted to major in 1951 and served as commanding officer in the Operations Command of the Air Staff from 1953 to 1956. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1955 and served as commanding officer of the Royal Swedish Air Force College from 1956 to 1959 when he was promoted to colonel and appointed commanding officer of the Göta Air Force Wing at Säve airbase near Gothenburg. One year later, in 1960, Mangård attended the Swedish National Defence College and was then appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, a position he held for one year before being appointed commanding officer of OpL II section of the Defence Staff' Operations Command in 1961. In 1964, Mangård was appointed commanding officer of the Fourth Air Group in Luleå and in 1965 he was promoted to major general. He left the military in 1966. After retiring from the military, Mangård was appointed Corporate Director of International Programs of North American Aviation in Los Angeles in 1961, in charge of international marketing of North American projects. In 1970, Mangård started working for SKF in Gothenburg. He then worked for SKF in Tokyo from 1971 to 1974 and in Madrid from 1974 to 1985 when he retired. Mangård then continued working for Empresa Nacional de Electronica y Sistemas SA in Madrid from 1985 to 1988.
Personal life
Mangård was married 1939-1967 to Anna-Lisa Hedberg, the daughter of ryttmästare Axel Hedberg and his wife Lisa. He was the father of Kerstin, Gunilla and Carl-Axel. In 1968 he married Rosemary Menzies-Whigham, the daughter of William Menzies-Whigham and Honoria.
