The Northern Department was a department of the government of England and later the Kingdom of Great Britain, responsible for dealing with government business in the northern part of Europe. This included foreign affairs concerning such northern powers as Russia, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire. It was administered by the Secretary of State for the Northern Department.
The Northern Department's opposite number within government was the Southern Department, responsible (as its name suggests) for affairs in southern Europe as well as domestic and colonial affairs.
In 1782, the Northern and Southern Departments were reorganized, with the Foreign Office taking over their foreign affairs responsibilities and Home Office taking over their domestic affairs responsibilities.
Famous quotes containing the words northern and/or department:
“I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)
“In the great department store of life, baseball is the toy department.”
—Los Angeles Sportscaster. quoted in Independent Magazine (London, Sept. 28, 1991)