Hacker Ministry

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The Hacker Ministry is the fictional British governing administration of the Right Honourable James Hacker, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as portrayed in the classic British sitcom, Yes, Prime Minister.

Contents

[edit] Tenure of government

The tenure of Hacker's government began in the mid-to-late 1980s (circa 1987, when the program was filmed) and ended at some unknown point, as there was no firm conclusion to the series.

Co-creator and writer Jonathan Lynn relayed this information via e-mail:

"[Hacker could have] won a general election somewhere in that period [the period while the series was being filmed]. He might have been pushed out after that (as Thatcher was), or he might have resigned on grounds of ill-health..."

Paul Eddington, who portrayed Hacker, died in 1995, and Hacker shares the same birth and passing dates. Hacker did assume a position in the House of Lords after his Premiership (as Baron Hacker of Islington), so one can assume that the Prime Minister lost a general election, or resigned as Mr. Lynn suggests, and that his government did not last too long into the 1990s.

As to why the series did not have a firm conclusion, Mr. Lynn noted:

"We [himself and co-writer Antony Jay] never considered how Hacker’s administration might have ended, nor when. We didn’t get that far. We decided to stop when we’d said all that we wanted to say."

[edit] The government

Hacker's party holds a parliamentary majority in the House of Commons. Listed below are the members of Hacker's Cabinet, as much as is disclosed during the airing of the series.

Information is also reaped from the novelisation. It should be noted that information contained in the novelisation does not correspond with the happenings in the television show, perhaps for the sake of continuity (e.g. although there is a new Foreign Secretary in the series, the book notes that the Foreign Secretary from the episode "Party Games" still holds the post).

This list is by no means complete or comprehensive, as the names of those holding many portfolios in Hacker's government were never revealed or discussed. It is somewhat curious that the portfolio of Minister for Administrative Affairs, the focus of Yes, Minister, is not discussed at all in Yes, Prime Minister, nor even who succeeded Hacker in the post.

To this latter point, Mr. Lynn replied:

"Ministries come and go, just like Ministers. Ministries are merged with others, created specially, often completely abolished. You can assume that the Ministry of Administrative Affairs was merged with some other, because its very title indicates a duplication of purpose. Hacker may very likely have merged it with the Cabinet Office, a move that would have delighted Sir Humphrey, now the Cabinet Secretary."

[edit] James Hacker cabinet

The Rt. Hon. James Hacker, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.
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The Rt. Hon. James Hacker, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.

Note: persons asterisked (*) indicates they were named only in the novelisation

[edit] Civil Servants

Sir Humphrey Appleby (l), Head of the Home Civil Service with Bernard Woolley, Principal Private Secretary.
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Sir Humphrey Appleby (l), Head of the Home Civil Service with Bernard Woolley, Principal Private Secretary.

[edit] Other important individuals

[edit] References

  • Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
  • The Complete Yes Prime Minister by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
  • e-mail correspondence with Jonathan Lynn, 07.26.06
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