Ministry of Magic

TheMinistry of Magicis the government of the British wizarding community in the fictional universe ofHarry Potterfor Britain and Ireland. It is led by an official called the Minister for Magic, and is first mentioned inHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Throughout the novels, it is regularly depicted ascorrupt,elitistand completely incompetent, with its high-ranking officials blind to ominous events and unwilling to take action against threats to wizard society. InOrder of the Phoenix,Dolores Umbridgewas placed atHogwartsto observe the happenings within the school (acting as a ministry plant), and prevent the spread of news concerning the return ofLord Voldemort. It reaches a zenith of corruption, before being effectively taken over by Voldemort. At the end of the final book, following Voldemort's death,Kingsley Shackleboltis revealed to have become the Minister for Magic.
Each newMuggle Prime Ministerreceives a visit from the Minister for Magic, who informs them of the existence of thewizarding world. The Minister explains that they will contact the Prime Minister only in circumstances in which the events of the wizarding world may affectMuggles. For example, the Minister has to inform the Prime Minister if dangerous magical artefacts or animals are to be brought into the UK.
The post of Minister for Magic is stated to be an elected position,but who has the power to elect or dismiss ministers is never explained. In the books, employment with the Ministry can be obtained right after completion of awizarding education,though different offices require different levels of education and sometimes specific exam results with some extra training required within the department itself.
In the books and films, the wizarding courts have displayed at times, a marked lack of interest in evidence for or against a suspect.All of the accused are given trials, as in the case of Buckbeak.InOrder of the Phoenix, the Ministry is shown to be quite prepared to decree and enforcedraconianlaws without notice. At times, the Ministry can also seem uninterested in solving serious problems, choosing instead, to ignore or cover up bad news. InHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Fudge takes a long time to respond to the attacks on Hogwarts; and even then is sure thatRubeus Hagridis causing the trouble rather than someone else. In the fourth and fifth instalments, Fudge refuses to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, despite mounting evidence. The Ministry even mounts a campaign to damageHarry Potter's credibility, an effort fuelled in part by Fudge's fear thatAlbus Dumbledorewants to forcibly remove him from his position. Eventually, the Ministry is forced to acknowledge the emergency and act on it. Fudge is subsequently removed from office for incompetence and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour.
TheDepartment of Magical Law Enforcementis a combination of police andjusticefacilities. It is located on the second level of the Ministry of Magic. Bartemius Crouch Sr. once headed the department, prior to the first book.At the beginning of the series, it is headed byAmelia Bones, who is replaced by Pius Thicknesse after Voldemort murders her.Thicknesse is replaced byCorban Yaxleyafter Voldemort has Thicknesse appointed the puppet Minister for his regime.By the events ofHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Harry Potter has become its head.
According to Rowling, this is the department that Hermione joins, after the events of the seventh book, transferring from theDepartment for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where she began her post-Hogwarts career.
The Ministry employs Aurors to pursue and apprehend Dark wizards. A potential recruit also has to pass "a series of character and aptitude tests."Nymphadora Tonksmentions that the program's courses of study include "Concealment and Disguise" and "Stealth and Tracking," and that the training is hard to pass with high marks.
Aurors in theHarry Potterseries includeAlastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks,Kingsley Shacklebolt,John Dawlish,Frank and Alice Longbottomand Rufus Scrimgeour. Harry himself later joins the department, and, according to a Rowling 2007 interview, is eventually promoted to department head.
During the First War againstVoldemort, Aurors had authorisation to use theUnforgivable Curseson suspectedDeath Eaters: that is, they received licence to kill, coerce, and torture them. Aurors also operate to protect high-profile targets such as Harry, Hogwarts, and the Muggle prime minister – inHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixauror Kingsley Shacklebolt worked secretly in the Muggle Prime Minister's security detail.
TheImproper Use of Magic Officeis responsible for investigating offences under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy. They regulate an underage wizard's or witch's use of magic and prohibit wizards and witches from performing magic in the presence of Muggles or in a Muggle-inhabited area in theHarry Potteruniverse. An enchantment called "the Trace" is placed upon children and helps the department detect offences; it ends when they reach the age of 17.However, Dumbledore explains to Harry that the Ministry cannot tell who exactly uses magic in a given area, only that ithasbeen used. This can be seen as unfair to young witches and wizards who grew up in the Muggle world (such as Muggle-born wizards, or those with one magical and one Muggle parent) as they are more likely to be caught using magic than those who grow up in the wizarding world. Those living in the Muggle world generally have no contact with other witches or wizards away from school, and the Ministry simply presumes that any magic performed where they are is an act of underage wizardry, while at the same time presuming that any magic performed in a wizard home that has minors present was performed by those aged 17 and over. This means that minors living in the wizard world have a much greater chance of escaping punishment for the use of underage magic. The Ministry has to rely on wizard and witch parents to enforce the ban on under-age magic within their homes.
It is not known how or when the Trace is placed upon a child, though it may be assumed that it begins either when the child begins to show magical talent or when they first go through the barrier to Platform 9¾. A number of witches and wizards, including Harry Potter, Hermione Granger,Lily Evans, andSeverus Snapeall known to have performed some underage magic while growing up in the Muggle world that went unpunished.
After Harry's first minor violation – a Hover charm that was actually performed by Dobby the House-elf – he is merely warned.His second violation, inflating Aunt Marge, is forgiven by Fudge because the Minister fears that Sirius Black is after Harry, and feels that his safety after running away from the Dursleys takes precedence.After his third offence (creating a Patronus to protect himself and Dudley from two Dementors), the letter sent to him states that he is expelled from school; that representatives will arrive at his home to destroy his wand; and that he is required to appear at a disciplinary hearing given that the offence occurred after he had already received one warning.Dumbledore reminds Fudge that the Ministry doesn't have the power to expel students from Hogwarts, or to confiscate wands without benefit of a hearing.
At Harry's hearing, he is tried by the entireWizengamotcourt and cleared of all charges thanks to Dumbledore's intervention. Such proceedings are highly unusual, however. For a simple case of underage use of magic, Harry was originally supposed to be interviewed solely by Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
TheWizengamotserves as the wizard high court of law, from the words "wizard" and "Witenagemot", which was a council of powerful people summoned to advise and appoint kings inAnglo-Saxon England. That word derives from theOld Englishfor "meeting of wise men" (witan– wise man or counsellor /gemot– assembly).
InOrder of the Phoenix, about fifty people are present at Harry's hearing. During the hearing, the Minister for Magic sits in the middle of the front row and conducts most of the interrogation, whilePercy Weasley(the Junior Undersecretary), acts asstenographer. Other officials seen at the Wizengamot include the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Dumbledore had held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for about 50 years. He was removed at the beginning of theOrder of the Phoenixnovel and reinstated at the end. He remained in that post for one year, until his death at the end ofHalf-Blood Prince.
Other offices include theMagical Law Enforcement Squad, which pursues day-to-day law offences; theMisuse of Muggle ArtefactsOffice, headed by Perkins, and the job in which the reader first seesArthur Weasley; and theDetection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective ObjectsOffice, created by Rufus Scrimgeour inHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, into which Mr Weasley is promoted, to be its head.
TheDepartment of Magical Accidents and Catastrophesis responsible for repairing accidental magical damage in the world ofHarry Potter. It is located on the third level of the Ministry of Magic and houses the following offices:
As noted inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, theDepartment for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creaturesis divided into three divisions: the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division.It is also noted that Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career here before transferring to theDepartment of Magical Law Enforcementin this office.It is located on the fourth level of the Ministry of Magic.
TheDepartment of International Magical Cooperationis an agency that attempts to get wizards from different countries to co-operate in wizarding actions both political and public.This department on the fifth level of the Ministry of Magic includes the headquarters of the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the British seats of the International Confederation of Wizards. The former head wasBarty Crouch Sr., until his death. This is also wherePercy Weasleybegan his Ministry career. This department is similar in function to the real-lifeForeign and Commonwealth Officeof the United Kingdom, and various organs of theUnited Nations.
TheDepartment of Magical Transportationis responsible for various aspects of magical transport. It is located on the sixth level of the Ministry of Magic and includes the following offices: the Floo Network Authority, responsible for setting up and maintaining the network, and distributing the greenishfloo powder; the Broom Regulatory Control, that controls the traffic of broom travel; thePortkeyOffice, the regulation of Portkeys; and theApparitionTest Centre, that grants licences to witches and wizards so that they can apparate.
The Department of Magical Games and Sports organises events like theQuidditch World Cupand theTriwizard Tournament.Ludo Bagmanused to be the Head of Department here, but his gambling problem forced him to flee from Goblin creditors. The department is located on the seventh level of the Ministry of Magic, and includes the British and IrishQuidditchLeague Headquarters, OfficialGobstonesClub, and the Ludicrous Patents Office – other sports and games-related aspects of theHarry Potterworld.
TheDepartment of Mysteriesis a department which studies particular enigmas (death, time, space, thought, and love) and stores copies of prophecies made in theHarry Potteruniverse. During Voldemort's discriminatory regime, he forces the department to lie and claim thatMuggle-bornsactually steal magic from Pure-bloods, which makes them "illegal magicals" and allows their arrest.
The rooms at the Department include:
TheUnspeakablesare the group of wizards who work in the Department of Mysteries (their identitiesclassifiedfor security reasons). Known Unspeakables includeBroderick Bode, Croaker,andAugustus Rookwoodwho is a Death Eater.
The following characters are notable Ministry of Magic officials.Yaxleyis listed underDeath Eaters.
Ludovic "Ludo" Bagmanis a retired professionalQuidditchplayer. He was the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Rowling uses Dumbledore'sPensieveto reveal inGoblet of Firethat Bagman was accused of being aDeath Eaterabout thirteen years before the events of the fourth book because he had given information to recently discovered Death EaterAugustus Rookwood. It is stated that he had believed Rookwood, who was his father's friend, to be beyond suspicion, and that, consequently, he had thought that he was aiding the Ministry by passing the information on to him.
Bagman loves gambling, which got him in financial trouble so severe that he pays some of his creditors with disappearing Leprechaun Gold, after they have gambled on theQuidditch World Cup. After the World Cup final, somegoblinscorner him in the woods outside the stadium and take all the gold he had on him, which is not enough to cover his debts. To clear his debts with the goblins, Bagman makes a bet on theTriwizard Tournament, of which he is one of the judges. He bets the goblins that Harry would win. He tries to help Harry over the course of the Tournament, giving him a perfect score in the First Task even though he is injured, and offering him advice. Harry andCedric Diggoryend up tying for first place in the tournament, and Bagman does not win the bet as the goblins argue that Bagman was betting Harry would win outright. Bagman runs away after the Third Task of the Tournament. Bagman appears in theHarry Potter: Quidditch World Cupvideo game as a Quidditch announcer.
Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Sr.was the head of theDepartment of Magical Law Enforcementwhen Voldemort first came to power. He sent Sirius Black to the wizard prisonAzkabanwithout a trial. Crouch appeared to be the favourite to become the next Minister for Magic until his son,Barty Crouch Jr., was caught with theLestranges, Death Eaters who were assisting Voldemort's rise to power and who had torturedNeville Longbottom's parents into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse. Crouch gave his son a trial before sending him to Azkaban; however, according to Sirius, the trial was a sham, merely a public demonstration of how much he hated the boy. The public were sympathetic to Crouch Jr., and placed all the blame on Crouch Sr., accusing him of driving his son to join the Death Eaters because of his parental neglect. After the trial, Crouch lost much of his popularity and any chance he had of becoming Minister of Magic, and he was shunted sideways to a post as the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
About a year after the trial, Crouch's terminally ill wife begged for her son's life to be saved, so Crouch abetted the two in trading appearances using Polyjuice Potion. Mrs. Crouch died as Crouch Jr. in Azkaban, while Crouch Sr. subsequently used the Imperius Curse to keep Crouch Jr. under house arrest. WhenBertha Jorkinsdiscovered the truth, Crouch Sr. silenced her with a powerful Memory Charm that permanently damaged her memory.
Shortly thereafter, Voldemort andPeter Pettigrewshow up at the Crouch family home, having found out about Crouch Jr. from interrogating Jorkins. Voldemort places Crouch Sr. under theImperius Curse, freeing Crouch Jr. from the Imperius Curse placed on him by his father, and forces Crouch to continue to appear in public as if there is nothing wrong. While still under the Imperius Curse, Crouch Sr. acts as one of the five judges at the Triwizard Tournament. However, worried that Crouch will fight off the effects of the Imperius Curse, Voldemort later has him imprisoned within his own house and has him communicate exclusively through supervised owl post. Despite this precaution, Crouch manages to break free of the Imperius Curse, and makes his way to Hogwarts, hoping to warn Dumbledore of what is happening, running into Harry andViktor Krumin the Forbidden Forest. However, while Harry is on his way to summon Dumbledore, he unwittingly alerts Crouch Jr., who is using Polyjuice Potion to impersonateMad-Eye Moody, to his father's presence. Crouch Jr. immediately goes to the forest, stuns Krum, kills his own father, transfigures the body into a bone, and buries it on the Hogwarts grounds.
Roger Lloyd-Packappeared as Crouch Sr. in the film adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
John Dawlishis an Auror. He is described as a "tough-looking wizard" with "very short, wiry" grey hair.
InHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dawlish accompanies Fudge to Hogwarts to confront Harry about the secretDumbledore's Armymeetings. Dawlish is knocked out along with Fudge, Umbridge, and Kingsley when Dumbledore, who takes all the blame for the Army on himself, escapes. A few weeks later, Dawlish is among the wizards who attempt to arrest Hagrid when Umbridge sacks the gamekeeper. Dawlish appears again inHalf-Blood Princeguarding Hogwarts after the commencement of the Second War. He is sent to follow Dumbledore when the Headmaster leaves school to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, but is "regretfully" hexed by the Headmaster. He is Confunded by an Order member early on inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and gives Death EaterCorban Yaxleyfalse information on Harry's removal from theDursleys'home. Being Confunded, he is defeated byDirk Cresswell, who escapes halfway on the way toAzkaban. Later, Dawlish is sent to arrestAugusta Longbottom. After a struggle, her defence places Dawlish inSt Mungo's Hospital.
Dawlish's first name is not revealed in the books or films. However, Rowling said in an interview with the podcast "PotterCast" that she named him John, owing to hostJohn Noe's appreciation of the character.
Dawlish is portrayed byRichard Leafin the film adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Cornelius Fudge is first mentioned inPhilosopher's Stoneas the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom. He makes his first appearance inChamber of Secrets, when he arrives at Hogwarts to take Hagrid to Azkaban. He also removes Dumbledore as Headmaster when pressured byLucius Malfoywho insisted that all the school governors had voted on it. However, it is not untilHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanthat Fudge meets Harry for the first time. Fudge does not press charges against Harry for accidentally inflatingAunt Marge, and advises him to be careful becausean escaped convictis at large. When Fudge goes for a social drink at theThree Broomstickspub, he inadvertently tells an unseen Harry that Sirius wasJames Potter's best friend and was believed to have betrayed the Potters to Voldemort.
His kindly relationship to Harry abruptly changes inGoblet of Fire. When Harry emerges from theTriwizard Tournament's third task after having seen the rebirth of Voldemort, Fudge refuses to believe it. He is worried about the fallout of announcing Voldemort's return, marking the end of the Wizarding world's years of peace, and the sudden outbreak of gloom and terror; hence he decides to merely ignore all of the evidence rather than accept the truth. J. K. Rowling has since stated that Fudge's behaviour mirrors that ofNeville Chamberlainin the lead-up toWorld War II.
InOrder of the Phoenix, Fudge orchestrates a vicious smear campaign through theDaily Prophetto present Dumbledore as a senile old fool and Harry as an unstable, attention-seeking liar. He also passes a law allowing him to placeDolores Umbridge, his Senior Undersecretary, as a teacher at Hogwarts. He then appoints Umbridge as Hogwarts' "High Inquisitor", with the power to inspect and fire teachers, and ultimately Dumbledore's successor as Headmaster, which gives her primary control of how Hogwarts is managed. Fudge is concerned that Dumbledore is a threat to his power and that he is planning to train the Hogwarts students to overthrow the Ministry.
After Voldemort appears in the Ministry of Magic at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Fudge finally admits that Voldemort has returned. He is ousted by the wizarding community for his failure to announce the return of Voldemort immediately after the Triwizard Competition; for discrediting Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore; and for installing Dolores Umbridge as Headmistress of Hogwarts. He is replaced byRufus Scrimgeour, though he stays on as a powerless advisor and messenger to the Prime Minister inHalf-Blood Prince. Fudge is portrayed byRobert Hardyin the film series.
Bertha Jorkinswas a student at Hogwarts at the same time asJames Potter. She became a Ministry of Magic employee after leaving Hogwarts. In the summer before the events ofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she was killed by Voldemort. Rowling later revealed that her death was used to turnNagini, Voldemort's snake, into aHorcrux.
Rufus Scrimgeourserves as the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom fromHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeuntil his death in the following book, succeeding Cornelius Fudge. He is described as looking like an old lion with tawny hair and bushy eyebrows, yellow eyes and wire-rimmed spectacles. Before being selected as minister, Scrimgeour headed the Auror Office of the Ministry and he is heavily battle-scarred from his years of service as an Auror, giving him an appearance of shrewd toughness. As the Minister, he visits theMuggle Prime Ministerto inform him about important wizarding events, crucial to internal security.
Scrimgeour was more concerned about the Ministry's reputation than seeing the danger theDeath Eatersand Voldemort posed to the wizarding world. He tried to make it look like the Ministry was making progress by covering up breakouts from Azkaban and arresting random suspects such asStan Shunpike– although later on Shunpike is in fact shown to have joined the Death Eaters, albeit ironically as a direct result of his being arrested in the first place. He also sought to raise the wizarding population's morale by asking Harry, who has been labelled as the "Chosen One", to be seen visiting the Ministry, so that the public would believe that Harry supports the Ministry's actions against Voldemort. Harry also rejects that role, primarily because of his own antagonistic history with the Ministry and because of the Ministry's treatment of Dumbledore.
Scrimgeour makes a short appearance inDeathly Hallowsas the executor of Dumbledore's will. Scrimgeour is assassinated shortly after the visit, when the Death Eaters take over the Ministry through a coup. Harry felt a "rush of gratitude" to hear that Scrimgeour, in his final act, attempted to protect Harry by refusing to disclose his location.
Bill Nighyplayed Scrimgeour inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, in which he is portrayed as Welsh and a more compassionate character.
Pius Thicknesseis first introduced inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He is the Head of theDepartment of Magical Law Enforcementat the start of the book, when he is placed under theImperius CursebyCorban Yaxley, who uses his position to infiltrate the senior ranks of the Ministry. Thicknesse is described as a man with long hair and a beard, which are mostly black but tinged with some grey, along with a great overhanging forehead and glinting eyes. Harry's immediate impression is of "a crab looking out from beneath a rock."
After thecoupin which Scrimgeour is killed, the Ministry comes under the de facto control of Voldemort, who appoints Thicknesse as hispuppetMinister. Thicknesse joins the ranks of theDeath Eatersfor the rest of the book and fights with them at the Battle of Hogwarts, where he duels againstPercy Weasley, who resigns mid-duel. Following the end of the battle, the Imperius Curse that was placed upon him is broken.Kingsley Shackleboltreplaces him as interim (later permanent) Minister for Magic. Not much is known about the "real" nature of Thicknesse, as he has been under the control of Yaxley for nearly the entire book.
Guy Henryplays Thicknesse inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1andPart 2, in which he is depicted as a Death Eater even before Scrimgeour's death. However, it's unknown if he was under the Imperius Curse, or joined out of his own free will. InPart 2, Thicknesse is killed by Voldemort.
Dolores Umbridge is a short, squat woman described as resembling a large pale toad, with "short, curly, mouse-brown hair". She speaks with a quiet, childish, high-pitched voice. She has a tendency to speak to people as if they are simpletons or very young children, without having demonstrated any magical abilities to back up her superiority claims. Umbridge becomes theDefence Against the Dark Artsprofessor during Harry's fifth year. Before that, Umbridge acted as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
Umbridge demonstrates incredible incompetence by refusing to teach the practical component of the class for political reasons. Fudge later appoints Umbridge as "Hogwarts High Inquisitor", a role which is solely symbolic, as Umbridge is unable to evict a rival professor from Hogwarts Castle and merely dictates numerous rules. She also lacks the ability to manufacture a truth potion, and falsely believes that Albus Dumbledore seeks a political coup against Minister for Magic Fudge.
During the events ofDeathly Hallows, Umbridge adopts a new title: Head of the "Muggle-Born Registration Commission", from 1997–1998. This Commission conducted unethical trials against "muggle-born" witches and wizards before being disassembled by Interim Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Rowling has confirmed via the fan site PotterMore that Umbridge is canonically placed in Azkaban, the Wizarding Prison, after the fall of Voldemort's corrupt Ministry. Fans of the Harry Potter series typically detest Umbridge because of her egregious conduct throughout the books and movies.
Percy Weasley is the third son ofArthurandMolly Weasley. In direct contrast to his brothers, he is a stickler for rules and often pompous due to his love of authority, though he does have good intentions at heart. When readers first meet Percy inPhilosopher's Stone, he is a Gryffindor prefect, and inPrisoner of Azkaban, he becomesHead Boy. In both these circumstances, he becomes physically attached to his badge, wanting to polish it and wear it even when out of school. Percy is an academically high-performing student. When he finishes school, this academic distinction plus his having served as Head Boy secures him a job in the Ministry inGoblet of Fire. Percy somewhat idolises his immediate supervisor,Barty Crouch Sr.When Crouch is ill, Percy replaces him as a judge in the second Triwizard Tournament task.
InOrder of the Phoenix, Percy is promoted to Junior Assistant to Minister Fudge. Since this is an unusually high-ranking position for someone of Percy's age to hold, Arthur suspects that Percy's promotion was not earned but instead given to him to allow the Ministry to better manipulate the Weasleys. Outraged and hurt by the suggestion, Percy violently argues with Arthur, resulting in Percy's subsequent alienation from his family. When Percy learns Ron is made a prefect, he sends him a letter congratulating him for following in his footsteps, and unsuccessfully urges Ron to sever ties with Harry (claiming Harry is an extreme danger to Ron's prefect status), and to pay loyalty to Umbridge and the Ministry – going so far to refer to her as a "delightful woman", much to Harry's and Ron's disgust.
In the climax ofDeathly Hallows, Percy returns to his family and manages to make up with all of them, and eventually duels new Minister for Magic and Voldemort puppetPius Thicknessein the Battle of Hogwarts. While dueling Thicknesse, Percy announces that he is resigning, the first joke he has made in many years, much to Fred's delight. Percy witnesses the death of his brother Fred at the hands ofAugustus Rookwood, and Percy clings to the corpse and shields it from further damage. In the last part of the battle, he and his father work together to defeat Thicknesse.
Percy is portrayed byChris Rankinin the film series.
Jennifer Barnett ofPeople's Weekly Worldstated that the reader is drawn "into the politics of the wizarding world—the 'Educational Decrees' from the toad-like Ministry of Magic representative, the high-level connections of 'war criminals' from the last rise of Voldemort, the prejudice against 'mudbloods' and 'half-breeds,'" and suggested connections "to the world we live in, to the similarities and differences between the Fudge administration and theBush administration."Julia Turner ofSlate Magazinealso interpreted Rowling's depiction of the ministration as criticism of the Bush andBlairadministrations, suggesting the Ministry's security pamphlet recalls theOperation TIPS(Terrorism Information and Prevention System).University of Tennesseelaw professor Benjamin Barton notes what he considers to belibertarianaspects ofHarry Potterin his paper "Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy", published in theMichigan Law Review, stating that "Rowling's scathing portrait of government is surprisingly strident and effective. This is partly because her critique works on so many levels: the functions of government, the structure of government, and the bureaucrats who run the show. All three elements work together to depict a Ministry of Magic run by self-interested bureaucrats bent on increasing and protecting their power, often to the detriment of the public at large. In other words, Rowling creates a public-interest scholar's dream—or nightmare—government."
One of the most influentialwizard rockbands is namedMinistry of Magicafter the government structure in the series. Ministry of Magic has made numerous performances, amongst the most notable of them taking place inWrockstock.