"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day..."
—The Welcome Witch's voice at the Ministry's headquarters.
***
INTRODUCTION:
The Ministry of Magic (M.o.M.) is 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 connects the British government to the wizarding world. The headquarters of the Ministry are in Whitehall, in central London, deep underground.
HEAD OF THE MINISTRY:
It is headed by the Minister for Magic. As of 2019, the Minister of Magic is Hermione Granger. Each Prime Minister of Great Britain is visited by the Minister for Magic. During the height of the Dark Lord's power, the Minister for Magic worked with the Muggle Prime Minister to ensure protection for the Muggle world.
FORMATION:
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 and still today takes 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 are also enforced by the Ministry, in part to maintain secrecy.
OTHER MINISTRIES OF MAGIC:
Other countries, such as Norway, Germany, Bulgaria, etc., have their own Ministries of Magic.
LOCATION OF HEADQUARTERS:
The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic is located in the heart of London. The actual structure is all underground, although magical windows show whatever weather Magical Maintenance has chosen for the day, from bright sunshine to hurricanes.
VISITOR'S ENTRANCE:
A visitor to the Ministry of Magic comes to a broken-down red telephone box located on a dingy street which has several shabby offices, a pub, and a wall covered with graffiti. When the telephone in the box is dialled (62442, the word M-A-G-I-C), the welcome witch's voice answers, not from the phone but from the air as if the person is standing right there. Visitors must state their business, upon which a silver badge pops out with the visitor's name and purpose of visit. Then the telephone box drops down like a lift for about one minute, after which the visitor is in the Atrium.
MINISTRY OF MAGIC LOGO:
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NOTES FROM THE ADMINS:
•The Ministry of Magic was founded in 1707 to succeed the earlier Wizards' Council, with Head of the Wizengamot Ulick Gamp serving as the first Minister for Magic, from 1707-1718.
•Cornelius Fudge was Minister for Magic during the events surrounding Lord Voldemort's second rise to power. He became Minister for Magic in 1990 and stayed on as Minister until being sacked on 2 July 1996.
•In 1998, after the destruction of Lord Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War, Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister for Magic and led a massive reform of the Ministry. He did this in effort to weed out corruption and prejudice. Kingsley replenished the Auror office and saw that the Death Eaters that escaped custody were caught and tried for their crimes against the wizarding community.
•The revitalisation and reform included the efforts of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in the Auror Office, and Hermione Granger advancing the rights of non-humans, and eradicating pro-pureblood laws in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and later the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The Ministry is now a much happier place to work thanks to the reforms.
•The Ministry has seven departments in all, each dealing with different aspects of the wizarding world. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement being the largest and all others more or less answering to it (except the Department of Mysteries).
