Ministry of Magic

The Ministry of Magic is an essential organization and the governing body of the magical community. It encompasses a variety of departments within it, including the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the Wizengamot, and the Department of Mysteries.

A leader known as the Minister of Magic is elected to overlook the affairs of the ministry. During the events of the Harry Potter series, we see three Ministers of Magic. They include Cornelius Fudge, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Pius Thicknesse. In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we are introduced to Hermione Granger as the Minister of Magic. A lot of wizards and witches all across Britain work for the Ministry of Magic under different departments. Mr Weasley, the father of Ron, also works at the Ministry in the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts.

History

The Ministry of Magic was established in the year 1707 as a successor to the Wizards’ Council that existed before it. Ulick Gamp became the first Minister of Magic as he was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot at that time. His term went on till 1718. He is best known for being the founder of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Several Ministers of Magic have taken the post after Ulick Gamp. Up until Cornelius Fudge took over the position of Minister in 1990, there have been around thirty Ministers of Magic. 

Millicent Bagnold was the Minister of Magic between 1980 and 1990. She was considered a very able Minister and was said to have acquitted herself from several breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy by claiming that they “have a right to party” after the night Voldemort vanished after trying to kill Harry Potter.

Albus Dumbledore was offered the position of the Minister of Magic several times after Bagnold’s retirement, but he refused. Barty Crouch Sr was also a popular choice for becoming the Minister, but the scandal revealing his son as a Death Eater tainted his popularity, thereby causing Cornelius Fudge to be elected as the Minister of Magic. 

Cornelius Fudge was made the Minister of Magic in the year 1990. He was first seen in the Harry Potter series when he came to Hagrid’s hut to take him to Azkaban after the Muggleborn students started getting petrified in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He played a major role in the manhunt for Sirius Black, who had escaped from the prison of Azkaban. He was a decently capable Minister but lacked the ability to make tough decisions. This was specifically seen when Harry Potter returned from the Triwizard Tournament maze with Cedric Diggory’s dead body and claimed that Lord Voldemort had returned.

Cornelius Fudge refused to admit that this was the case and continued to perpetuate the idea that he was not back. Furthermore, in the next academic year, he almost expelled Harry from Hogwarts in a trial set up in the presence of the Wizengamot for Underage Magic. He is also believed to have been influenced by Lucius Malfoy and his opinions about Harry. He sent his Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge, to “reform” Hogwarts and its teaching practices. However, it was eventually revealed that Voldemort had, in fact, returned when there was a battle in the Department of Mysteries, and Voldemort eventually appeared in the hallway of the Ministry of Magic headquarters in London. 

Cornelius Fudge was criticized by the wizarding world for not being very capable of dealing with this crisis, and he eventually resigned in the year 1996. The Auror Rufus Scrimgeour was made the Minister of Magic, and he was also introduced to the muggle Prime Minister by Cornelius Fudge. They discussed the effects that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had been having in the muggle world. However, a short while after coming to power, Rufus Scrimgeour was killed by the Death Eaters, and they took over the Ministry. Pius Thicknesse was placed as the Minister of Magic under the Imperius Curse to do Voldemort’s bidding.

After the Battle of Hogwarts took place and Lord Voldemort was killed, Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the most important members of the Order of the Phoenix, was elected the new Minister of Magic. He placed several reforms in the Ministry, which helped usher in a new era of peace in the magical world. Eventually, Hermione would become the Minister of Magic, as is shown in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

British Ministry of Magic Headquarters

The British Ministry of Magic headquarters is located in London. It is completely built underground and has several entrances. One entrance is a phone booth located in the muggle part of London. Other entrances include the Floo Network, which consists of a bunch of fireplaces and toilets. The Atrium is the major hallway from which one can access the different offices within the Ministry. There were ten levels in the building, and each level hosted several important offices. 

The Atrium was a large hall that was first seen when a visitor entered the Ministry building. It was filled with fireplaces on either side of it, which were used by wizards and witches to enter and exit the building. Halfway across the Atrium was the Fountain of Magical Brethren. It had the golden statues of a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and a house-elf all standing together, and from this setup, water erupted and fell into the pool that surrounded this. A large portrait of the Minister of Magic was also placed in the Atrium, as is seen in the movie adaptations of Harry Potter.

Department Of Magical Law Enforcement

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest department in the Ministry of Magic. It is a major department that regulates most other departments in the Ministry. It comprises the Auror Headquarters, Wizengamot Administration Services, Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects, and the Improper Use of Magic Office. The Auror Headquarters consists of the Auror Offices and also the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, which is headed by Arthur Weasley. All these offices except the Wizengamot are situated on Level Two of the Ministry building. The Wizengamot is situated on Level Ten of the Ministry Building. In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it is revealed that Harry is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Department Of Magical Accidents And Catastrophes

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes is a department that deals with the repair of damage and accidental complications that reveal the existence of magic to muggles. It also deals with other accidental damage caused by magic and is quite immediate in response time so as to minimize any further damage. The major divisions of this department included the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, which dealt which repairing the damage caused by the magic cast by inexperienced witches or wizards, and the Obliviator Headquarters, which housed a group of professional obliviators trained very accurately and experienced amply in performing the spell “Obliviate” without causing any damage to the subject. The department also had the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. This committee came up with excuses to convince muggles of an event through “muggle” excuses when the magical remedies for the problem failed completely.

Department For The Regulation And Control Of Magical Creatures

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was the second largest department in the Ministry. Its offices were situated on Level Four of the Ministry Headquarters. It had three major divisions based on the classification of magical creatures. There was an office that took care of Magical Beings, one for Magical Beasts and another for Magical Spirits. It also contained the Goblin Liaison and the Centaur Liaison Offices. In the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy, Clause 73 required each governing body pertaining to the magical community in a region to ensure safe and sound measures to prevent magical creatures in their jurisdiction from ever revealing the presence of the magical community to muggles, failing which the International Confederation of Wizards would subject that governing body to suitable punishments. Hermione first joined this department after graduating from Hogwarts.

Department Of International Magical Cooperation

The Department of International Magical Cooperation was situated on Level 5 of the Ministry of Magic building. It dealt with cooperation and collaboration between wizards and witches of different countries. It is believed to be similar in function to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the Muggle world. It consists of the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats. The International Magical Trading Standards Body was responsible for supervising the trading practices in the wizarding world. It was also responsible for passing legislation pertaining to international trading practices. The International Magical Office of Law dealt with international wizarding law and was probably closely related to the International Confederation of Wizards. The British Seats of the International Confederation of Wizards were also situated there.

The Wizengamot

The Wizengamot was a combination of an elected body of representatives and a judiciary, as it contained members who were responsible for initiating hearings and also passing important laws. It existed even before the Ministry of Magic, and the first Minister of Magic, Ulick Gamp, was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot before he became the Minister. It was made up of around fifty members and had a Chief Warlock who presided over most of their sessions. They sat on high seats during trials. Albus Dumbledore was the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for a long while until he was removed from this position when he claimed that Voldemort had returned based on Harry Potter’s claim. However, when it eventually came to be proved, he was reinstated into this position and remained the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot until his death in 1997. The trial room where the Wizengamot convened was situated on Level 10 of the Ministry Building.

Department Of Magical Transportation

The Department of Magical Transportation was located on Level 6 of the Ministry Building. It was responsible for regulating all magical means of transportation. It specifically catered to the needs of the four main modes of magical transportation – Apparition, Broomstick, Portkey, and Floo Powder. It contained several offices, including the Portkey Office, Broom Regulatory Control, Floo Network Authority, Apparition Test Centre, and the Floo Regulation Panel. The functions of this department included setting up connections between two locations for transportation through the Floo Network, issuing Apparition licenses, keeping track of Portkeys used, etc. Ottaline Gambol, who became the Minister of Magic in the year 1827, was responsible for the ingenious idea of transporting students to Hogwarts. She proposed the creation of the Hogwarts Express and most likely took help from the Department of Magical Transportation for it to come to fruition.

Department Of Magical Games And Sports

The Department of Magical Games and Sports was located on Level 7 of the Ministry Building. It was responsible for overseeing and regulating all sports and related events in the wizarding world. After the signing of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, each governing body was assigned the task of keeping its games and sports events under check and preventing them from being revealed to the muggle world at large.

Ever since, the Department of Magical Games and Sports has been entrusted with the task of keeping the grandioseness and fun associated with magical sports and games intact while also maintaining its secrecy of it from muggle establishments. The department had several divisions in it, including the British and Irish League Headquarters, the Official Gobstones Club, and the Ludicrous Patents Office. Ludovico Bagman, the celebrated Quidditch player, was the head of this department during the Quidditch World Cup held in 1994.

Department Of Mysteries

The Department of Mysteries was definitely one of the strangest departments in the Ministry. It was located on Level 9 of the Ministry Building. It was created before the Ministry of Magic and was later fused into the Ministry when it was established. The Department of Mysteries had several divisions, including the Hall of Prophecies, the Brain Room, the Death Chamber, the Love Room, the Space Chamber, and the Time Room. The officials working in the department were known as Unspeakables and were similar to spies in espionage whose lives were mostly classified. The Department of Mysteries was also the place where the battle against the Death Eaters took place for the prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney about Lord Voldemort and the boy who would vanquish him.

 The Model of the Ministry of Magic

Despite being a magical regulation body for the people of Magical Britain and Ireland, the Ministry of Magic is written quite similar to many of the governmental bodies in the real world, more specifically, the Government of Great Britain. Almost every department in the Ministry of Magic is closely related and quite similar to many of the departments under the governments in the world. Even the Department of Mysteries and its functioning is very similar to the details that were declassified about the MI6 or even American intelligence agencies like the CIA, Homeland Security, and the FBI. Rowling’s writing can therefore be seen as a deeper understanding of the muggle world and its institutions too.

FAQs