Editing Postmaster General

{{short description|Chief executive officer of the postal service of a country}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}

A '''Postmaster General''',<ref name=Hansard>{{Cite Hansard|speaker=[[Baroness Miller of Hendon]]|date=15 June 2000|title=Division No. 1 (Postal Services Bill)|url=https://Publications.Parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/vo000615/text/00615-08.htm|hansard=Lords Hansard text for 15 June 2000 (22615-08)|jurisdiction= |house=House of Lords|volume=613 – Part No. 104|column=1782|publisher=[[Hansard]]|access-date=17 August 2013}}</ref> in [[Anglosphere]] countries, is the chief executive officer of the [[postal service]] of that country, a [[ministerial office]] responsible for overseeing all other [[postmaster]]s.

== 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/>

== International ==
International equivalents include:<!--listed by date of founding-->
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Jurisdiction!!Official title!!Years
|-
|Scotland||[[Postmaster General for Scotland]]||1616–1707
|-
|United States||[[United States Postmaster General]]||1775–present
|-
|Ireland||[[Postmaster General of Ireland|Postmaster-General of Ireland]]||1784–1831
|-
|Sri Lanka||[[Postmaster General of Sri Lanka]]||1815–present
|-
|New Zealand||[[Postmaster-General of New Zealand]]||1858–1989
|-
|Hong Kong||[[Hongkong Post|Postmaster General of Hong Kong]]||1860–present
|-
|Canada||[[Postmaster General of Canada]]||1867–1981
|-
|Australia||[[Postmaster-General of Australia]]||1901–1975
|}

==References==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Postal system}}

[[Category:Postmasters general| ]]