Postmaster General

A Postmaster General, in many countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, responsible for oversight over all other Postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsible for overseeing the delivery of mail throughout the nation originated in England, where a Master of the Posts is mentioned in the King's Book of Payments, with a payment of £100 being authorised for Tuke as master of the posts in February 1512.^[1] 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, by Henry VIII.^[2] In 1609 it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General.^[3]

Other examples include:

• Postmaster General of Canada, beginning in 1867
• Postmaster-General's Department, Australia, beginning in 1901
• Postmaster-General of New Zealand, 1858–1989
• Postmaster General of Sri Lanka, beginning in 1815
• Postmasters General of Ireland, 1784–1831
• Postmaster General for Scotland, 1616–1707 then as Deputy Postmaster General for Scotland, 1710–1831
• United States Postmaster General, beginning in 1775
• Postmaster General of Hong Kong, beginning in 1860
• Postmaster General of Army of the Republic of Nicaragua, beginning February in 1856, Colonel Alex P. Jones

References

1. Brewer, J.S.; Brewer, John Sherren; Brodie, Robert Henry; Gairdner, James (1864). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. London: Longman, Green, Longman, & Roberts. p. 1454.
2. Walker (1938), p. 37
3. "Division No. 1 (Postal Services Bill) [15 Jun 2000] – Column 1782". Volume No. 613 – Part No. 104. Hansard. 15 Jun 2000. Retrieved 2013-08-17.