Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster GCMG, PC, DL (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936) was a British politician who served as the seventh Governor-General of Australia, in office 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 attended Eton College and New College, Oxford, and in his youth played first-class cricket – in later life he served a term as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Forster was elected to the House of Commons in 1892, representing the Conservative Party. He was a Junior Lord of the Treasury under Arthur Balfour from 1902 to 1905, and later Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1915 to 1919. Forster was raised to the peerage in 1919, and appointed Governor-General of Australia the following year. Unlike his predecessor, Ronald Munro Ferguson, he faced no constitutional challenges and had no influence on the political scene. Forster travelled widely while in office and was popular among the general public, mainly concerning himself with ceremonial duties. He retired to England at the end of his five-year term.
Lord Forster married the Honourable Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu, daughter of the 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, in 1890. After Forster's return from Australia they settled near Southampton, and lived quietly until Forster's death in 1936. Lady Forster was invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1926. She was also invested as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
They had two sons, John Forster and Alfred Henry Forster, who were both killed in the First World War, and two daughters, Dorothy Charlotte Forster and Emily Rachel Forster. Because Lord Forster had no surviving sons, the barony of Forster became extinct on his death.