British Ministry of Magic

### Affiliation

International Confederation of WizardsHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

### Enemies

Under Fawley:
Gellert Grindelwald
Gellert Grindelwald's army
Under Jenkins, Minchum, Bagnold and Fudge:
Lord Voldemort
Death Eaters

The **British Ministry of Magic** (**M.o.M.**) was the main governing body of the magical community of Great Britain (*i.e.* England, Scotland and Wales) and Ireland, with the intention of preservation of magical law. The Ministry connected the British government to the wizarding world. The headquarters of the Ministry was in Whitehall, in central London, deep underground. It was headed by the Minister for Magic. By 1991, the Minister for Magic was Cornelius Fudge. Each Prime Minister of Great Britain was visited by the Minister for Magic. During the height of the British Wizarding Civil War, the Minister for Magic worked with the Muggle Prime Minister to ensure protection for the Muggle world.

The Ministry of Magic was formed as a successor to the earlier Wizards' Council and came into being in 1707. It was involved, in some capacity before its actual formation, in the International Confederation of Wizards' decision to enact the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, which took the responsibility of enforcing said Statute in the United Kingdom. The laws against magic-use by underage wizards and against wand use by non-wizard folk were also enforced by the Ministry, in part to maintain secrecy.

Other countries, such as France, Germany, Bulgaria, etc., had their own Ministries of Magic. The United States of America was one of the exceptions, given that its governing magical body was instead referred to as a "Magical Congress" (MACUSA).

## Headquarters

*Main article: "British Ministry of Magic Headquarters"*

The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic was located in the heart of London. The actual structure was all underground, although magical windows showed whatever weather Magical Maintenance had chosen for the day, from bright sunshine to hurricanes.

### Visitors’ Entrance

Visitors to the Ministry of Magic came to a broken-down red telephone box on a dingy street which had several shabby offices, a pub, and a wall covered with graffiti. When the telephone in the box was dialled (62442, the word M-A-G-I-C), the welcome witch’s voice answered, not from the phone, but from the air, as if the person was standing right there. Visitors had to state their business, upon which a silver badge popped out with the visitor’s name and purpose of visit. Then the telephone box dropped down like a lift for about one minute, after which the visitor would be in the Atrium.

### The Atrium

The Atrium was on level 8. It was a large hall with fireplaces up and down both long walls. Down the left-hand side of the hall were gilded fireplaces which witches and wizards used to arrive at the Ministry. The right-hand side contained gilded fireplaces as well, and these were used for departures. The floor was polished dark wood. The ceiling was peacock blue with golden symbols moving across it. The Fountain of Magical Brethren was halfway down the Atrium. A group of golden statues, depicting a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf, spouted water into the surrounding pool of water. At the end of the Atrium was a set of golden gates, next to which was a security stand. Eric Munch was usually on duty here. He registered the wands of visitors. Another smaller hall was beyond the gates, where there was a series of lifts. The lifts provided access to the other levels, except the tenth.

### Levels

On level one were the offices of the Minister for Magic and Support Staff.

On level two was the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

On level three was the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.

On level four was the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

On level five was the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

On level six was the Department of Magical Transportation.

On level seven was the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

On level eight was the Atrium.

On level nine was the Department of Mysteries.

Level ten could only be reached by the stairs to the left of the door which led to the Department of Mysteries on level nine. Courtroom Ten was first seen during Harry’s first forays into Dumbledore’s Pensieve, when he witnessed various Death Eater trials. Dungeon-like corridors led to Courtroom Ten. The walls of the courtroom were dark stone. In the centre of the room was a chair covered in chains that stood below rows of high benches on which the Wizengamot sat.

## Government Structure

The Ministry's employees were largely unelected, but the Minister for Magic was voted into office by the wizarding community. Employment with the Ministry could be obtained directly upon completion of a wizarding education, although different offices required different levels of education and sometimes specific exam results. Both the Minister and the Ministry as a whole were seen to be sensitive to wizarding public opinion, which they attempted to influence via the wizarding newspaper the *Daily Prophet*.

The Ministry of Magic had no rights to punish Hogwarts students for misdemeanours, nor did they have privilege of their expulsion and wand confiscation, unless charges had been successfully proven and passed. Dumbledore made it clear to Fudge that the Ministry had little influence on the detailed workings within the school, which Fudge tried to change with a series of Educational Decrees, effectively annexing the school into the government.

### Minister of Magic

The Minister for Magic was the elected leader of the Ministry. The post of Minister for Magic was established with the creation of the Ministry of Magic after the International Statute of Secrecy went into effect. The first Minister (Ulick Gamp) took office in 1707. The Minister and Support Staff occupied Level One of the Ministry. The Minister enjoyed a position of great prominence and prestige. He or she represented the British magical community in international affairs and set the tone for the policies of the Ministry of Magic. In addition to this, the Minister for Magic was known to the Muggle Prime Minister, and the two leaders would communicate when necessary. The Minister for Magic also presided over the Wizengamot.

### The Wizengamot

The Wizengamot was very similar to that of the British muggle government with various Political Parties all pinning for the majority. The Wizengamot is made up of electives from different constituencies. Each elective belongs to a political party, the party with the most electives has their leader put in as Minister of Magic.

### Departments

The Ministry had seven departments in all, each dealing with different aspects of the wizarding world. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was the largest, and all others more or less answered to it (except the Department of Mysteries).

Each Department had a level of Ministry Headquarters assigned to it, although Law Enforcement had not only level two, but also the courtrooms of level ten. There were also many minor offices within the departments, which were part of an informal ranking system based on its size and perceived importance by senior officials, with transfer from a smaller division to a bigger and busier one being viewed as a "promotion." The departments communicated through "interdepartmental memos" written on pale-violet paper aeroplanes, which flew on their own to destinations, because previous routine use of owls for messages within the Ministry caused an excess of dirtying by owl droppings and moulted feathers. Known Ministry departments and offices included: