Cornelius Fudge (Harry Potter)

Cornelius Oswald Fudge is a recurring character in the Harry Potter franchise. Fudge made his debut as a minor character in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, before receiving a proper introduction as a supporting antagonist in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He was a supporting character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, before returning as a major antagonist in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He made his final appearance, as a minor character in the novel Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Fudge was the British Minister for Magic from 1990 to 1996. He had complete control over the Ministry of Magic, the main governing body of the British wizarding world. Despite being a quite respectable figure on a first glance, he turned out to be sloppy at best, and a corrupt tyrant no better than his more detestable predecessors at worst.

In the movie adaptations, he was portrayed by the late Robert Hardy.

Why He's (Intentionally) a Corrupt Wizard
NOTE: These reasons mainly apply to his book incarnation.
 * 1) To begin with, he is a very prejudiced person, as he favors people born with high status over lower classes. Moreover, he favors pure-bloods over half-bloods and muggle-borns and neglected the Weasley Family as he believed that they are obsessed with muggles.
 * 2) * Adding to that, he is also prejudiced towards non-human species, like house-elves and giants.
 * 3) He is ultimately a delusional and selfish hypocrite, a sycophant who favored peace and tranquility for the sake of his own position over a truth that would cause disruption of this peace. He preferred to cover up the truth rather than prepare the wizarding community for the worst.
 * 4) He is quite incompetent when it comes to being a Minister for Magic, as he seems to be more reactive than proactive because he would often wait for a solution to appear, rather than take the initiative and create a solution.
 * 5) After Harry returns from the graveyard with Cedric Diggory's body and informed everybody about Voldemort's return, Fudge, instead of taking this information into account, goes into complete paranoia and vehemently refuses to believe it. His paranoia grows out of control as he becomes convinced that both Harry and Dumbledore were conspiring to remove him from office.
 * 6) In Order of the Phoenix he is absolute at his worst as he spends this whole novel slandering Harry and everybody who is affiliated with him.
 * 7) * On the top of this, his actions at the end of Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix end up having negative impact on Harry's mental state.
 * 8) He is responsible for Percy Weasley's estrangement from his family.
 * 9) He effectively allows Voldemort to rebuild his former army and power completely uninterrupted, greatly endangering the whole wizarding world.
 * 10) He never apologizes to Harry nor to Dumbledore for mistreating them, even after finding out that they were telling the truth all along.
 * 11) After Voldemort's return was finally revealed, Fudge, instead of realizing his mistakes, tries to retain his position and even tries to gain Harry's support, completely disregarding the fact that he spent an entire year smearing him and everyone connected to him. Namely, he wanted Harry to lie to everyone (which ironically was the very thing he had accused Harry of for a whole year) that, during his reign, Ministry was doing a good job at security. When Harry found out about this, he was enraged and disgusted by Fudge's shamelessness.
 * 12) Overall, he cared much more about his position as Minister for Magic than the safety of the wizarding world.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Robert Hardy portrays him very well in the movie adaptations.
 * 2) In the movies, he is more tolerable than in the books, not to mention that his antagonism towards Harry and Dumbledore in the fifth movie was toned down when compared to the novel.
 * 3) * Also, unlike in the books where he was forced to resign against his will, in the movies he apparently realized his mistakes and resigned willingly.
 * 4) He also has a positive trait, as he initially treated Harry like his favorite nephew.
 * 5) He was truly shocked by Cedric Diggory's death, showing that he isn't a completely heartless person.
 * 6) He was present at Dumbledore's funeral, suggesting that he was genuinely saddened by his death.