17th February 2016

BREAKING: The International Confederation of Wizards has announced that Minister of Magic Persepolis Zephyr is being vetted for Supreme Mugwump.  While the confirmation has yet to be finalized, sources familiar with the process tell The Daily Prophet that at this stage it would take "a catastrophe of humiliating proportions" for the hearing committee to decline to approve Zephyr's appointment.



Persepolis Zephyr was appointed Minister of Magic in 2009, unseating Marcus Annwyl a popular post-war Minister. Zephyr's campaign of unity, fellowship, and peacetime innovation won popular approval. Prior to the highest office, Zephyr served on the Hogwarts Board of School Governors or 8 years, and for 3 years was the Chair.

One of her last achievements as Chair of the Board of School Governors and first as Minister of Magic was the TetraWizard Tournament, the first reprisal of the historical contest in more than 10 years.  It was the first such tournament to suffer no student fatalities.

Other notable achievements in her tenure have been her vocal support of the Muggle Affairs Office (founded under Annwyl), and her key role in Werewolf Rights reforms. Under her administration, werewolf safe house access has been expanded and more permits have been issued for private Wolfsbane Potion brewers. Laws protecting the rights of werewolves concerning education, employment, and healthcare have also been markedly better enforced.

Critics say that her support of these two controversial social issues is little more than fence-sitting. The MAO is deemed by many to be underfunded, and her statements about werewolves' "personal responsibility" and the rash of werewolf-related violence could be evidence her efforts to help werewolves were ineffective.

Minister Zephyr has also recently concluded the largest and most detailed audit of the Ministry of Magic's finances in two decades, with her office claiming to have accounted for every knut. Detailed reports have been published publicly, demonstrating a commitment to increased transparency, efficiency, and accountability. The audit has lead to changes in funding, some layoffs, and the revitalization of popular, but underfunded programs.

However, one Ministry department has been conspicuously absent from any mention in the audit process: the Department of Mysteries. The public is already calling for the curtain to be turned back and recent events have only made the demand for accountability in that department all the stronger.

But perhaps Minister Zephyr will be most remembered for her dogged campaign against the on-going Dementor plague that began in 2010. Her Office has deployed nearly all departments in focused efforts to combat the danger including public education, providing Hogwarts security recommendations, the formation of I.D.R.E.A.D, an interdepartmental emergency task force to deal with Dementor attacks, and new policies in partnership with St. Mungo's Hospital to develop new effective treatments for Dementor victims.

The Minister of Magic's Office has declined a detailed statement about the possibility of Minister Zephyr leaving office for the ICW, only to say that they await the official word, but have all confidence that Minister Zephyr is highly capable of the post and that she'll do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition for the next Minister of Magic, whoever that may be.