Editing Postmaster General (section)

== History ==
The practice of having a [[government official]] responsible for overseeing the delivery of [[mail]] throughout the nation originated in England. A 'Master of the Posts' is mentioned in the ''King's Book of Payments'', with a payment of [[Pound sterling|£]]100 being authorised for [[Sir Brian Tuke]] as 'Master of the King's Post'<ref name=Hansard/> in February 1512.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brewer|first=J.S.|author2=Brewer, John Sherren|author3=Brodie, Robert Henry|author4=Gairdner, James|date=1864|url=https://Archive.org/details/lettersandpaper12offigoog|title=Letters and papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII. Preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England|publisher=Longman, Green, Longman, & Roberts|location=[[Public Record Office]], London|volume=II, pt. II|page=[https://Archive.org/details/lettersandpaper12offigoog/page/n582 1454]}}</ref> In 1517, he was appointed to the office of 'Governor of the King's Posts', a precursor to the office of [[Postmaster General of the United Kingdom]], by [[Henry VIII]].<ref>Walker (1938), p. 37{{Clarify|date=February 2021}}</ref> In 1609, it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General.<ref name=Hansard/>

In the United Kingdom, the office of Postmaster General was abolished in 1969. It was replaced by the [[Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (United Kingdom)|Minister of Posts and Telecommunications]]. In 2000, its functions were transferred to the [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|Secretary of State]] at the [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]] (DTI).<ref name=Hansard/>