The Board of Governors is a group that has the power to govern Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They are headed by a Chairman and their role includes appointing and suspending a Head of Hogwarts. They appear throughout the Harry Potter book series.
About[]
The Board of Governors have power to appoint the Head of Hogwarts or suspend them or other staff including a Professor if they feel they are no longer adequate.[1][2] They address any concerns a parent has about a school-related issue and if they feel the school is unsafe, they can shut it down.[3] They are headed by a Chairman but if the other governors decide they are no longer serving the Board, they can be sacked.[4]
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Board of Governors appear to have less power than the Ministry of Magic when they intervene with Hogwarts and introduce Educational Decrees. The Board of Governors are absent during the power struggle between the government and those working at Hogwarts.[5]
History[]
Lucius Malfoy was the Chairman of the Board of Governors[1] for an undetermined amount of time. At one point, he tried to use his position to submit a demand for the story, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, to be banned at Hogwarts. Head of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore, refused to remove the book from the Hogwarts library and disagreed with Malfoy's reasoning that reading about interbreeding between wizards and Muggles would encourage his son to sully his bloodline. Dumbledore was supported by the majority of the Board and his response triggered Malfoy's campaign to have him removed from the post of Head.[6]
Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts saw the pinnacle of their rivalry.[1] Lucius hatched a plot to have the Chamber of Secrets reopened. He threatened the eleven other governors with cursing their families if they didn't vote to suspend Dumbledore during the crisis. After they complied, Professor McGonagall was appointed interim Head. In June, Lucius was forced to step down by the other governors when they confessed to agreeing to the suspension under threat and Professor Dumbledore was reappointed.[4]
A few months later, Lucius lodged a complaint about Rubeus Hagrid to the Board when Buckbeak attacked Draco in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. The Board decided Hagrid had taught the third years something too advanced.[7]
Known governors[]
Notes and sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 14
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 11
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 19
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- ↑ The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Albus Dumbledore's notes on The Fountain of Fair Fortune
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 7