JKR Speaks: Arthur Weasly will NOT be next Minister of Magic

[ohneill_2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 107761

Mandy wrote:
  
> 
> I don't know how the WW appoints their new ministers. I don't 
believe 
> they are elected (not by the WW public at least), or if the 
potential 
> candidates have to come from inside the ministry itself.  If not, 
> then Lucius, or any influential member of the WW would be high on 
the 
> list of potential candidates.   
> 

Now Cory:

I think we know that new ministers do not have to come from within 
the Ministry, don't we?  Before Fudge came to power, we know that a 
lot of people wanted Dumbledore for Minister, but that Dumbledore 
wasn't interested and "never applied for the job."  (OoP, p. 93, U.S. 
version).  I'm not sure if we have canon for how long Fudge has been 
in power, but we know that Dumbledore has been at Hogwarts for at 
least the past 50 years, and for some reason, I want to say Fudge has 
been around for a shorter time than that.  (I have a vague memory 
that there is canon somewhere that refers to a different minister 
during the first war, but I have no idea where in the five books that 
is -- does anyone?)

Thus (assuming I'm right about the parts of the above that I am 
missing), we know that, at the time people were supporting DD for 
Minister, he was a Hogwarts professor.  We also know that to become 
Minister, one must "apply for the job."  However, it is not clear how 
ministers are chosen; to me "applying" for a job is different 
than "running" for an office, which suggests that Ministers are not 
elected, but are chosen by someone, but by whom?

Sorry not to be more precise, but hopefully someone else can fill in 
some of the blanks.

--Cory