Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster

The Right Honourable The Lord Forster GCMG, PC, DL
Forster c. 1925
7th Governor-General of Australia
In office 6 October 1920 – 8 October 1925
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	Billy Hughes Stanley Bruce
Preceded by	Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson
Succeeded by	The Lord Stonehaven
Member of Parliament for Bromley
In office 30 December 1918 – 12 December 1919
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	Cuthbert James
Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks
In office 26 July 1892 – 30 December 1918
Preceded by	Charles Mills
Succeeded by	Sir Thomas Bennett
Personal details
Born	(1866-01-31)31 January 1866 Catford, Kent, England
Died	15 January 1936(1936-01-15) (aged 69) London, England
Resting place	Exbury, Hampshire 50°48′01″N 1°23′45″W / 50.8004°N 1.3957°W / 50.8004; -1.3957
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu (m. 1890)
Children	4
Personal information
Height	6 ft 0[1] in (1.83 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1885–1895	Hampshire
1886–1889	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 43 Runs scored 807 Batting average 11.69 100s/50s 0/2 Top score 60* Balls bowled 7,134 Wickets 135 Bowling average 21.65 5 wickets in innings 7 10 wickets in match 2 Best bowling 8/119 Catches/stumpings 43/–
Source: Henry Forster at ESPNcricinfo

Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, GCMG, PC, DL (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936) was a British politician and first-class cricketer who served as the seventh Governor-General of Australia from 1920 to 1925. He had previously been a government minister under Arthur Balfour, H. H. Asquith, and David Lloyd George.

Forster was born in Catford, Kent. He was educated at Eton College, before matriculating to New College, Oxford. In his youth he played first-class cricket, predominantly for Hampshire and Oxford University, making 43 appearances at first-class level. An all-rounder, it was as a bowler that he had most success, taking 135 wickets with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He would later serve as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1919.

Forster was elected to the House of Commons in 1892, representing the Conservative Party. He was a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury under Balfour from 1902 to 1905, and later Financial Secretary to the War Office during and after the First World War, from 1915 to 1919. Forster was raised to the peerage in 1919, and appointed Governor-General of Australia the following year. His appointment was a change from that of his predecessors, with Forster being suggested to the Australian government by the Colonial Secretary, Lord Milner, as one of three candidates to succeed the outgoing Governor-General, Ronald Munro Ferguson. This approach was a break from tradition, being the first time the Australian government had been consulted about the appointment. He retired to England at the end of his five-year term.

After retiring to England, Forster held a number of ceremoninal posts in Hampshire and held the directorship of three Australian financial institutions. He died in London in January 1936, following complications from an operation.