Cornelius Fudge

"He's not back!"

- Fudge denying Lord Voldermort's return. "He's back!"

- Fudge upon seeing Lord Voldermort is alive and in person.

Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge is a minor character in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, a supporting character in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and a major antagonist in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He was the Minister for Magic from 1990 to 1996. He thus had complete control of the Ministry of Magic, the main governing body of the British wizarding world.

He was portrayed by the late Robert Hardy.

Biography
Fudge began his career in the Ministry as Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He then succeeded Millicent Bagnold as Minister for Magic and thus had the responsibility of meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister when necessary. In his early years, he kept asking Albus Dumbledore for help. While Fudge was accepting of all blood types of Wizards and witches, he mostly favored Pure Bloods, but he also agreed with Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection act. However, Fudge did allow for the passage of laws that would oppress half-breeds such as Werewolves, Giants, or Centaurs (which would lead to both the Giants and the majority of the Werewolves to join Voldemort's side).

In 1993, following attacks on Muggle-borns at Hogwarts School due to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Fudge had Rubeus Hagrid taken to Azkaban so it would look like the Ministry was doing something despite Hagrid's innocence. However, Fudge reassured Hagrid that if someone else was responsible for the attacks then he would be released. It turns out that Voldermort was the guilty party and that his Diary possessed Arthur's Daughter Ginny. In the 1993 to 1994 school year, Fudge had to deal with the escape of the prisoner Sirius Black from Azkaban; as Fudge believed Black to be a threat to society, he had Dementors stationed in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. However, Black was shown to be innocent and narrowly escaped from Fudge's fingers. During the summer holiday, he organised the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament with Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch Senior.

After Cedric Diggory's death in the Tournament and Harry claiming Voldemort had returned, Fudge refused to believe it, because it would mean the end of the world he worked so hard to build. Instead, he used his influence at the Daily Prophet to launch a smear campaign against both Harry and Albus Dumbledore, as Fudge was paranoid that Dumbledore was after his job and was simply telling lies. However, following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Fudge and other Ministry members saw Voldemort with their own eyes and he was forced to admit that Harry and Dumbledore had been telling the truth the whole time, causing the wizarding community to protest and Demand for his resignation. He was kicked out of office in disgrace and replaced as Minister for Magic by Rufus Scrimgeour, but stayed in an advisory capacity and communicated news of the Second Wizarding War to the Muggle Prime Minister if Scrimgeour was unable to. Before being kicked out, he asked Dumbledore to persuade Harry to lie for him and say they were winning the war, but Dumbledore refused, no longer seeing it fit to help him and knowing that Harry would find it a bad idea and having resented him for his actions. It's completely unknown if Fudge played some pivotal role in the Second Wizarding War or if he survived it, but whatever was the case, Fudge's most prized possession, his reputation and image, were completely destroyed as endangering the entire world, both Magic and Muggle made him Britain's most hated Minister of Magic and as Dumbledore had warned him, the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy what the Wizarding community tried so hard to rebuild.

Trivia

 * Fudge's behavior at the end of Goblet of Fire and throughout Order of the Phoenix mirrored former British Primre Minister Neville Chamberlain prior to World War II and during its first 8 months as both men ended up being pressured into resigning, then they temporarily acted as advisers to their successors. However, there are major differences:
 * Chamberlain was a pacifist while Fudge was a coward.
 * Chamberlain was incorruptible while Fudge was corrupt and abused his power in his final year in office.
 * Chamberlin tried to negotiate with Hitler for Peace while Fudge denied the truth.
 * Chamberlain took responsibility for his actions while Fudge only did so after realizing that Harry and Dumbledore were telling the truth upon witnessing Voldemort in the Ministry.
 * Chamberlain resigned with integrity while Fudge attempted to stay in power by asking Dumbledore to arrange a meeting with Harry so he could lie to the Wizarding World and say that the ministry was winning the war. Dumbledore refused as he knew that Harry would also refuse and Fudge was kicked out of office in disgrace.
 * While the scenes of Fudge refusing to believe the truth was cut from the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the only hint that the Minister wished to cover up the truth was during Dumbledore's memorial speech for Cedric.