Cornelius Fudge

Cornelius Oswald Fudge was the Minister of Magic from 1990-1996. He was dismissed due to his unwillingness to believe that Lord Voldemort had returned. He was replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, but stayed in an advisory capacity.

Biography
Cornelius Fudge is a caricature of the modern politician, from his blustery 'hail fellow well met' approach to those who might be useful to him, to his 'duck and deflect' attitude towards the worsening crisis in the wizarding world. As Minister of Magic he appeared in the early books as a bumptious good-natured wizard trying to manage and smooth over the occasional crisis, such as Harry Potter's misuse of magic to inflate his Aunt Marge in 1993.

However, Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban prison started Fudge on a spiraling path of poor decisions, including the posting of Dementors at Hogwarts as a misguided attempt at providing protection for the students, nearly producing tragic results, and a dithering lack of concern following the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry witch on holiday in Albania.

Suspicious that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore may have had designs on the role of Minister himself, Fudge refused to believe Dumbledore's warning that Voldemort had returned, in mid-1995. He was also responsible for the removal of the soul, and therfore memory and ability to give evidence, of Bartimous Crouch Jr., who, under the influence of the veritiserum, had explained to dumbledore how Voldemort  had orchestrated his return. It is never made clear if this is done purposely by Fudge, to prevent Albus Dumbledore from having evidence of Voldemorts return, or if he simply failed to act in the defence of Crouch. It is clear however that this lack of testimony helped Fudge Discredit Dumbledore throughout mid-1995 to mid-1996. His insistence on bringing a dementor for protection during the interview of san unarmed and guarded suspect is highly suspicious.

In 1995, after Harry was accused of using magic illegally in the presence of a Muggle, Fudge took a leading role in Harry's prosecution before the Wizengamot, and actively sought to discredit Harry, going so far as to introduce irrelevant considerations and highly biased accusations while seeking to deny Harry's right to a fair chance to present his own version of events. Only the intervention of witness Arabella Figg and Dumbledore himself spared Harry from expulsion.

Driven by paranoia, Fudge sought to undermine Dumbledore's credibility and authority both at Hogwarts and at large in the wizarding world, which he accomplished, first by ensuring that Dumbledore was presented in the news as a crackpot. Soon afterwards, a representative of the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge, was installed at Hogwarts as professor in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. By means of numerous Ministry decrees, Fudge gradually extended her powers until he was able to remove Dumbledore from Hogwarts, and handing control to Umbridge.

Fudge's term ended in 1996 when, shortly after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he and several other Ministry officials saw Voldemort for themselves in the Ministry Atrium. Forced to accept the truth, Fudge was pressured by the public and media, and resigned within a week of the incident.