The first Postmaster General – under the original title of Master of the Posts - was Brian Tuke. Later, the Postmaster General sat in the Cabinet and oversaw the running of the postal system.

Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 also gave the Postmaster General the right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs - something which would extend to telecommunications and broadcasting over the next 100 years.

The office was abolished in 1969 by the Post Office Act, when a replacement public authority was established. The position was initially, with reduced powers, replaced with "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications"; later regulation had been delegated to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in 1992. Royal Mail Group is currently overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Henry Fawcett, Postmaster General 1880-1884.