Faris Spavin

Minister Faris "Spout-Hole" Spavin was Minister for Magic from 1865 to 1903. He was most likely the Minister against whom there was an assassination attempt made by a centaur.

Spavin's term was also notable for introducing some reforms to the game of Quidditch (and the commotion they originated): on the night of 21 June, 1884, the Department of Magical Games and Sports decreed the institutionalisation of the Stooging Penalty in Quidditch. This announcement caused widespread discontent among British Quidditch players and fans, who demonstrated profusely at the Ministry of Magic Headquarters: the assembled crowd bombarded a Departmental representative with Quaffles, as well as threatened to stooge Minister Spavin himself. Wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were duly dispatched there and the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

This was not without precedent: just over a year before, another riot had broken out at the Ministry as the Department of Magical Games and Sports had decided to get rid of "goal baskets" in favour of the modern goalposts.

Behind the scenes

 * He is known to have served the longest known term as Minister: thirty-eight years.

Etymology

 * The name "Faris" means "knight" in Arabic, but also "stone" in both Greek and English. Faris is also the name of a municipality in Laconia, Greece. It has a population of roughly 5,000.
 * Spavin is a word given to a disorder located in a horse's neck, usually a swelling. The word has French origins and comes from the word "espavin", meaning "swelling".

Appearances

 * J. K. Rowling's Official Site
 * Quidditch Through the Ages

Notes and references
Faris Spavin Faris Spavin