A Postmaster General, in

Anglosphere The Anglosphere is a group of English-speaking world, English-speaking nations that share historical and cultural ties with England, and which today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in d ...

countries, is the chief executive officer of the

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

s. The practice of having a

government official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

responsible for overseeing the delivery of

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

throughout the nation originated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where 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' in February 1512. Belatedly, in 1517, he was officially appointed to the office of 'Governor of the King's Posts', a precursor to the office of

Postmaster General of the United Kingdom The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom was a Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electr ...

, by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

.Walker (1938), p. 37 In 1609, it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General. In the United Kingdom, the office of Postmaster General was abolished in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, being replaced by the Minister of Posts and Communications. In turn, its functions were subsequently transferred to the Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Other examples include:

References

{{Postal system