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Revision as of 06:56, 27 October 2019
The Minister for Magic is the political leader of the wizarding community in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the highest ranking member of the Ministry of Magic, which they control. The position somewhat corresponds to the Prime Minister of British Muggles.
The Minister is advised on wizarding matters by their staff members and by the other Heads of Departments. They also chair the Wizengamot to pass Wizarding Laws, or to hear important trials (such as Harry Potter's case), though the verdict is decided by majority vote, including that of the Minister themselves. Many other wizarding countries also have Ministers and have the similar governmental systems such as the Bulgarian minister.
Despite being the head of the wizarding community of Britain and Ireland, it is common for the Minister to uphold a facade of peace and safety to maintain control and the satisfaction of the public, even if it means blatantly lying to the citizens, putting them at risk, and forcing the media to corroborate the Ministry's claims. This was a sign of the corruption during the times of the Second Wizarding War.
The Minister for Magic was formally appointed in 1707 when Ulick Gamp was voted in as the first Minister for Magic. The minister is democratically elected through a public vote and there is no fixed limit to a Minister's term in office. However, regular elections must be held at a maximum interval of seven years.[1]
History
Albus Dumbledore was offered, but refused, the position on at least three occasions. This was due to Dumbledore's past, leading himself to believe that he was not to be trusted with power.
After Millicent Bagnold was preparing to retire, Barty Crouch Snr was the next prime candidate, due to his cruel but effective methods of combating the Dark Arts during the First Wizarding War, until he sentenced his son to Azkaban for being a Death Eater. It was after his son's presumed death that the public began to take pity on the boy and thought Crouch was too neglectful as a father, which led to a drop in his popularity, causing him to lose out to Fudge.
Several Ministers in recent times, from left to right: Cornelius Fudge (1990-1996), Rufus Scrimgeour (1996-1997), Pius Thicknesse (1997-1998) and Kingsley Shacklebolt (1998-c. 2019)
Cornelius Fudge was Minister from 1990 to 1996. During his first days in office, he was not very confident and, as a result, constantly bombarded Dumbledore with letters for advice. During the last year of his tenure, Fudge was overcome by self-induced persecution delusions because Dumbledore claimed Voldemort had returned, and abused his own position to prevent that news from spreading, in order to protect both his position of power and the peace that the Ministry had worked so hard to maintain. In the end, when Fudge was forced to accept that Voldemort had indeed returned, the entire wizarding community called for his resignation and, after a fortnight of futile attempts to remain in office, in July 1996 he was replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour.
Scrimgeour's term ran for one year, in which he was little better than Fudge, despite his aura of experience and pro-activity; he created cover-ups and detained incorrect suspects to make it look as though he was accomplishing something. Making the same mistakes as his predecessor, he gave little chance to build up any effective defence as a whole, and it eventually cost him his life when he was overwhelmed and killed in August of 1997, with the official line saying that he had resigned. He was replaced by Voldemort's puppet, Pius Thicknesse.
Thicknesse, under Corban Yaxley's Imperius Curse, was appointed as Minister, though he was really only Voldemort's puppet, with the Dark Lord effectively becoming the true Minister. While Thicknesse was to handle everyday business, which included changing the entire Ministry to suit the Death Eaters' ideology, Voldemort was free to extend his reign beyond the government. Voldemort did not announce himself Minister, but instead kept himself hidden in the shadows, in order to plant uncertainty and doubt within the wizarding community, preventing them from trusting anyone and forming any rebellion that may have overwhelmed the Ministry and the Death Eaters.
By the end of the war, Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed as temporary Minister, the position later becoming permanent. His term led to the revolutionising of the entire Ministry, removing any and all corruption that had permeated it before and during the takeover.
By 2019, Hermione Granger had succeeded Kingsley as Minister for Magic.
List of British Ministers of Magic
18th century
| # | Portrait | Minister for Magic (term of office) |
Other Ministerial offices held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Ulick Gamp 1707 to 1718 |
Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot (Wizards' Council) | First person to use the title of Minister for Magic. Established the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. |
| 2 | Damocles Rowle 1718 to 1726 |
— | Established Azkaban Prison in 1718. Forced to step down after his actions as Minister towards Muggles led to him being censured by the International Confederation of Wizards. | |
| 3 | Perseus Parkinson 1726 to 1733 |
— | Attempted to pass a bill to prevent wizard-Muggle miscegenation (the interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types); the public did not approve and voted him out at the first opportunity. | |
| 4 | Eldritch Diggory 1733 to 1747 |
— | First established an Auror recruitment programme. Tried (unsuccessfully) to close down Azkaban or remove Dementors as guards. Died in office. | |
| 5 | Albert Boot 1747 to 1752 |
— | Resigned after mismanaged goblin rebellion. | |
| 6 | Basil Flack 1752 |
— | Shortest-serving Minister for Magic. Resigned due to the advancement of goblin rebellions (goblins allied themselves with werewolves). | |
| 7 | 
|
Hesphaestus Gore 1752 to 1770 |
Auror | One of the earliest Aurors. Successfully put down a number of revolts by magical beings. Renovated and reinforced Azkaban Prison. |
| 8 | Maximilian Crowdy 1770 to 1781 |
— | Routed out several extremist pure-blood groups planning Muggle attacks. Died in office, under mysterious circumstances. | |
| 9 | Porteus Knatchbull 1781 to 1789 |
— | Correspondence with Muggle Prime Minister Lord North led to the latter being forced to resign after word leaked out that he believed in wizards. | |
| 10 | Unctuous Osbert 1789 to 1798 |
— | Too much influenced by pure-bloods of wealth and status; was little more than a puppet in the hands of Septimus Malfoy. | |
| 11 | 
|
Artemisia Lufkin 1798 to 1811 |
— | First female Minister for Magic. Established the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and lobbied (successfully) to have a Quidditch World Cup held in Britain during her term. |
19th century
| # | Portrait | Minister for Magic (term of office) |
Other Ministerial offices held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 
|
Grogan Stump 1811 to 1819 |
— | Defined "Being" and "Beast", settling a debate that had been going on since the 14th century. Deeply restructured the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and established the Department of Magical Games and Sports. |
| 13 | Josephina Flint 1819 to 1827 |
— | Revealed a severe anti-Muggle bias during her term; specifically attacked new Muggle inventions such as the telegraph, which she claimed interfered with wand function. | |
| 14 | Ottaline Gambol 1827 to 1835 |
— | Came up with the idea of having the Hogwarts Express to solve the dilemma of how to transport students to Hogwarts School without attracting Muggle attention. Established committees to investigate Muggle brainpower. | |
| 15 | Radolphus Lestrange 1835 to 1841 |
— | Unsuccessfully attempted to close down the Department of Mysteries. Resigned due to ill health (widely rumoured to have been unable to cope with the strains of office). | |
| 16 | Hortensia Milliphutt 1841 to 1849 |
— | Introduced more legislation than any other Minister. Political downfall came when she began passing regulations on hat pointiness and other wearisome laws. | |
| 17 | Evangeline Orpington 1849 to 1855 |
— | Had concealed platforms built at King's Cross Station to house wizarding trains. Believed to have intervened magically (and illegally) in the Crimean War. | |
| 18 | Priscilla Dupont 1855 to 1858 |
— | Developed an irrational loathing of the Muggle Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, which led to a series of Muggle-baiting incidents. Forced to resign after it became too much. | |
| 19 | Dugald McPhail 1858 to 1865 |
— | A period of calm and stability. Established the Knight Bus in 1865. | |
| 20 | Faris "Spout-Hole" Spavin 1865 to 1903 |
— | Longest-serving Minister. Left office at age 147, after attending Queen Victoria's funeral wearing an admiral's hat and spats. Survived an assassination attempt by a centaur, who took offence to the punchline of his "a centaur, a ghost and a dwarf walk into a bar" joke. |
20th century
| # | Portrait | Minister for Magic (term of office) |
Other Ministerial offices held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Venusia Crickerly 1903 to 1912 |
Auror | Competent and likeable Minister. Died in 1912 in a Mandrake-related gardening accident. | |
| 22 | Archer Evermonde 1912 to 1923 |
— | Passed emergency legislation preventing wizards from taking part in the on-going First World War, lest this cause a massive breach of the International Statute of Secrecy. | |
| 23 | Lorcan McLaird 1923 to 1925 |
— | An exceptionally taciturn man who preferred to communicate in monosyllables and expressive puffs of smoke that he produced with his wand. Forced out of office out of sheer irritation. | |
| 24 | Hector Fawley 1925 to 1939 |
— | Term in office coincided with the beginning of Gellert Grindelwald's "For the Greater Good" revolution. Fawley did not take Grindelwald's threat to the world wizarding community sufficiently seriously and was, as a result, forced from his office. | |
| 25 | Leonard Spencer-Moon 1939 to 1948 |
Tea-boy in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes | A sound Minister, oversaw a period of great turmoil in both the wizarding (global wizarding war) and the Muggle world (Second World War). Maintained a good working relationship with Winston Churchill. | |
| 26 | Wilhelmina Tuft 1948 to 1959 |
— | Presided over a period of welcome peace and prosperity. Died in office, after eating Alihotsy-flavoured fudge (which she was allergic to). | |
| 27 | Ignatius Tuft 1959 to 1962 |
— | Son of his predecessor, who gained election based on his mother's popularity. Tried to institute a controversial and dangerous Dementor breeding programme, and was forced from his office. | |
| 28 | Nobby Leach 1962 to 1968 |
— | First Muggle-born Minister for Magic. Denied having had anything to do with England's 1966 World Cup win. Left office after contracting a mysterious illness (conspiracy theories abound - Abraxas Malfoy is widely believed to have been part of the shady plot that made him leave his post prematurely). | |
| 29 | Eugenia Jenkins 1968 to 1975 |
— | Dealt competently with the pure-blood riots during the Squib Rights marches of the late 1960s. The first rise of Lord Voldemort saw her ousted from office, as the people saw her as inadequate to meet the challenge. | |
| 30 | Harold Minchum 1975 to 1980 |
— | Hard-liner. Placed even more Dementors in Azkaban, but could not contain Voldemort's seemingly unstoppable rise to power. | |
| 31 | Millicent Bagnold 1980 to 1990 |
— | Minister during the terminal phase of the First Wizarding War. It was during her term that Lord Voldemort seemingly died following the James and Lily Potter murders in 1981. Responsible for the successful Death Eater trials immediately after the war. | |
| 32 | 
|
Cornelius Fudge 1990 to 1996 |
Junior Minister at the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes
|
Most of the wizarding world supported Albus Dumbledore for Minister when Bagnold retired, but Fudge was appointed when Dumbledore refused the office. Fudge relied heavily on Dumbledore in the first years of his term. When Lord Voldemort returned, Fudge persistently refused to accept it, and launched a smear campaign to discredit those who claimed the Dark Lord had returned. Was ousted from office when Voldemort appeared in the Ministry itself. |
| 33 | File:Scrimhallows22.jpg | Rufus Scrimgeour 1996 to 1997 |
Head of the Auror Office | Replaced Cornelius Fudge in the height of the Second Wizarding War. Tried to reassure the wizard population that the ministry were making progress in the war. This was done through reorganising some Ministry offices, publicising arrests, and trying to recruit Harry Potter as the Ministry's poster-boy. As a result, actual progress was reduced and the ministry was not able to meet the threat posed by a returned Voldemort. Murdered at the hands of Voldemort during a Death Eater coup. |
| 34 (omitted) | 
|
Pius Thicknesse | Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement | Put under the Imperius Curse by the Death Eaters, and appointed Minister following their coup. Thicknesse was effectively a puppet of the Death Eater regime and was unconscious of anything he was doing (the reason why he is ommited from most official records as a Minister). |
| 35 | 
|
Kingsley Shacklebolt 1998 to 2019 |
Auror | Named "Caretaker Minister for Magic" after the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the Second Wizarding War, but subsequently elected to the office. Oversaw the capture of Death Eaters and supporters following Voldemort's death. Led a massive reform of the Ministry, in order to rid it of corruption and pro-pure-blood laws. Purged Dementors from Azkaban. |
21st century
| # | Portrait | Minister for Magic (term of office) |
Other Ministerial offices held | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 
|
Hermione Granger 2019- |
Worker in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement |
Had previously been one of the top Ministry employees during Shacklebolt's massive reform of the Ministry, a progressive voice who ensured the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws. |
Timeline
Relationship to the Muggle Prime Minister
One of the Minister for Magic's duties is to correspond with the British Prime Minister of Muggles regarding any ongoing events in the wizarding world that will or may affect the United Kingdom as a whole. e.g. Voldemort's return. This includes introducing themselves to the Muggle Prime Minister, should there be a change in office on either side.
A small portrait in the corner of the Prime Minister's office serves as an envoy between the two Ministers. It announces the arrival of the Minister for Magic, seeking the Prime Minister's reply (usually acquiescence to the unavoidable). It is believed that a Permanent Sticking Charm must have been placed on the portrait, for neither the Prime Minister nor his experts were able to remove it from its location.
Known correspondences
Sometime between 1990 and 1993, Fudge introduced himself to the newly elected Muggle Prime Minister and informed him of the existence of the magical population living among Muggles in secret. Fudge assured the Muggle Prime Minister that they would likely not see each other again unless there was an emergency. Fudge also claimed that the previous Prime Minister had tried to throw him out of the window, believing him to be a hoax planned by his political opposition.
In around July 1993, Fudge visited the Prime Minister's office again, to inform him of Sirius Black's breakout from Azkaban, the wizard prison. On this visit, Fudge also told the Prime Minister about Voldemort, in order to allow the Prime Minister to have an in-depth understanding of what was going on, though as he dared not say the name out loud, he instead scribbled it on a piece of paper.
In August 1994, Fudge turned up to report on the fiasco at the Quidditch World Cup, since its victims included Muggles. He also informed a bewildered Prime Minister that the Ministry of Magic would be importing dragons and a sphinx into Great Britain for the Triwizard Tournament, taking place at Hogwarts later that year.
Sometime prior to July 1996, a flustered Fudge appeared in the Prime Minister's office briefly to inform him that there had been a mass breakout from Azkaban, the wizard prison.
Around July 1996, Fudge turned up and announced to the Prime Minister that the Second Wizarding War had begun, and admitted that the Dark forces in their community were responsible for the various gloomy and tragic events occurring in the Muggle world. In addition, Fudge introduced his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour.
When Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic, it was possible that the puppet Minister Pius Thicknesse was not sent to meet the Muggle Minister, as was the tradition in the past, due to the Death Eaters' attitudes towards Muggles and Muggle-borns. However, once Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed Minister in 1998, it is possible, if not likely, that he did meet with the Prime Minister to not only introduce himself (indeed, he had been put in as secretary to the Prime Minister in 1996 to watch over his security)[2] but to assure the Muggle Minister that the war had ended.
When Hermione Granger was appointed Minister around 2019, she, like her predecessors, likely also introduced herself to the incumbent Prime Minister.
Behind the scenes
- In the American editions, the Minister is called the Minister of Magic. In the films, both Minister of Magic and Minister for Magic seem to be acceptable, as different characters call it different names. For example, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, when Scrimgeour arrives at The Burrow, George wonders what the "Minister of Magic" is doing there; likewise, when Kingsley's Patronus interrupts the Bill and Fleur's wedding, he calls the Minister the same thing. However, when Pius Thicknesse gives his speech later in the film, he calls himself the "Minister for Magic". The reason behind this is unknown.
- Basil Flack has the distinction of being the Minister for Magic with the shortest known term in office: 2 months, in 1752. The longest term was that of Faris Spavin, lasting 38 years, from 1865 to 1903. There has been at least one foreign Minister for Magic with a shorter term then Flack's, though: Joshua Sankara, Minister for Magic of Burkina Faso for two days in 2006.
- Apparently, the Minister must get the approval of a Wizengamot majority for any legislation.
- One of Gilderoy Lockhart's many empty claims to any of his classmates who bother listening to him is to knuckle down to become Britain's youngest Minister for Magic, which he never accomplish.
- Since Kingsley's appointment as the next Minister for Magic is omitted from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, there is no mention of who is appointed to that position after the final battle.
- Supposing that the liaison between the Minister for Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister has been conducted in the same way since the Ministry's inception, as well as supposing that the Muggle Prime Ministers in the Harry Potter universe are all the same as their real-life counterparts, then the following table illustrates the Ministers for Magic that would have introduced themselves to the respective Prime Ministers:
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)
- Daily Prophet Newsletters
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter for Kinect
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault
Notes and references
| Minister for Magic and Support Staff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Minister for Magic: Kingsley Shacklebolt | |||
| Advisor to the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge | |||
| Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic: Dolores Umbridge | |||
| Junior Assistant to the Minister for Magic: Percy Weasley | |||
| Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission (1997 to 1998 only) Dolores Umbridge | |||
| Others: Eduardus Limus (Exotic Symbol Analyst) • Mdme. Miraforum (Quill Control & Rune Translation) • Loretta Fieldwake (Special Advisor for Elf Legislation) |