2 Answers

A mandate is a command or written authority to act for someone.  Like the word, mandatory.

man·date (mndt)
n.
1. An authoritative command or instruction.
2. A command or an authorization given by a political electorate to its representative.
3.
a. A commission from the League of Nations authorizing a member nation to administer a territory.
b. A region under such administration.
4. Law
a. An order issued by a superior court or an official to a lower court.
b. A contract by which one party agrees to perform services for another without payment.
tr.v. man·dat·ed, man·dat·ing, man·dates
1. To assign (a colony or territory) to a specified nation under a mandate.
2. To make mandatory, as by law; decree or require: mandated desegregation of public schools.
[Latin mandtum, from neuter past participle of mandre, to order; see man-2 in Indo-European roots.]

From>>>http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mandate