The region was formed in 1815 as a subdivision of the Kingdom of Prussia's Province of Saxony. In 1944 it was briefly separated as a province in its own right – the Province of Magdeburg – before becoming part of post-war Saxony-Anhalt within the Soviet occupation zone after World War II and then East Germany in 1949. Both the states and the Regierungsbezirke of East Germany were disbanded in 1952, with Magedeburg largely becoming Bezirk Magdeburg. During reunification in 1990 it was reconstituted as part of the revived Saxony-Anhalt. The Regierungsbezirk was disbanded on January 1, 2004. Its functions were taken over by the Landesverwaltungsamt, which has three offices at the former seats of the Bezirksregierungen.
