The department originated in the old Ministry of Northern Greece, which was renamed the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace on 19 August 1988.[1]
The ministry was abolished on 7 October 2009 and downgraded to a general secretariat within the Ministry of the Interior,[2][3] but was re-established on 21 June 2012.[4] On 27 January 2015, it was again demoted to a sub-ministry within the Ministry of the Interior.