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"Their puir wee braines couldnae cope wi' it."
— Dugald McPhail on why emergency meetings between the Minister for Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister never take place at the Ministry of Magic[src]

Minister Dugald McPhail was a British wizard who served as the nineteenth Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic, in office from 1858 to 1865.

He was sorted into Hufflepuff during in his Hogwarts years.[2]

Biography[]

Early life[]

Dugald McPhail was born on an unknown date, no later than 1841,[3] to at least one magical parent. His surname, coupled with the fact that he spoke in a heavy Scottish brogue, implies he was from Scotland, or had Scottish ancestry.

In his youth, he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was Sorted into Hufflepuff.[2]

As Minister for Magic[]

McPhail was appointed Minister for Magic, sometime after leaving Hogwarts, from 1858 to 1865.[2] He was elected Minister at least once, perhaps twice.

During his time as Minister, McPhail came up with the idea of mimicking the then-new Muggle bus service to provide underage and infirm witches and wizards with a discreet method of transportation, leading to the introduction of the Knight Bus in 1865.[4]

His overall term in office was viewed as "successful" by Gabriel Truman in the 1990s.[2]

Legacy[]

On 1 September 1991, Prefect Gabriel Truman welcomed the Hufflepuff first-years to the Hufflepuff Basement with a short speech in which he mentioned former Minister Dugald McPhail as one of the many notable Hogwarts students who were Sorted, like them, into Hufflepuff.[2]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. According to Pottermore, Nobby Leach (Minister for Magic between 1962 and 1968) was the first Muggle-born wizard ever to be appointed to the office)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Pottermore - archived here
  3. In order to have been appointed Minister for Magic in 1858, McPhail would have had to be out of Hogwarts and thus at least 17 at that point, placing his earliest birth year in 1841 — although it is unlikely someone that young would become Minister for Magic.
  4. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Knight Bus" at Wizarding World


Minister for Magic of Great Britain
Ministers for Magic
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