Horace Slughorn is the current Potions Master in the Harry Potter series of novels. He was introduced in chapter four ("Horace Slughorn") of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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Slughorn was the Potions professor for several decades before he initially retired in the 1980s. He was also originally the Head of Slytherin House. He was convinced to return to the post in 1996 by Albus Dumbledore (with help from Harry Potter). He soon proved to be much kinder to Harry than his predecessor Severus Snape had been.
In his first potions class, Slughorn offers a Felix Felicis potion (liquid luck) to the student who brews the best cauldron of Draught of the Living Death. He tells the class that he had taken Felix felicis twice, once at age 24 and once at age 57. These dates may correspond with other events in the Harry Potter timeline, though it is difficult to tell which without knowing Slughorn's age (we know only that he is younger than Dumbledore).
Slughorn was described as having "prominent eyes" (later described as "pale gooseberry"), a "shiny pate," and an "enormous, silver, walruslike mustache."
Slughorn generally displays traits of Slytherin, such as ambition: he is very well-connected through the wizarding world, and is ever-hungry to be beside famous people. He never wishes to be famous himself: as Dumbledore says, "He prefers the backseat; there is more room to spread out." Slughorn is keen to make ever-more connections, and in his post as teacher made a habit of having regular meetings with students who were either famous (i.e. Harry Potter), related to famous people (i.e. Cormac McLaggen), or gifted or talented in one way or another (i.e. Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley). Known as "the Slug Club", this group of students were constantly being invited to Slughorn's office for dinner, parties, and the like.
Slughorn's personality contradicts the typical "evil Slytherin" stereotype seen until the sixth book. Despite his ambition, he is not a bad person, is horribly guilt-ridden about the information about horcruxes he gave to Lord Voldemort that unwittingly helped his rise to power, and has little prejudice against Muggle-born witches and wizards.
At the end of the sixth book, around June 1997, Professor Slughorn also resumed his former position as Head of Slytherin House.