{{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 and in the Thurn-und-Taxis Post, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters.
== 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 £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 Minister of Posts and Telecommunications. In 2000, its functions were transferred to the Secretary of State at the 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||1784–1831 |- |Sri Lanka||Postmaster General of Sri Lanka||1815–present |- |New Zealand||Postmaster-General of New Zealand||1858–1989 |- |Hong Kong||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