Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, GCMG, PC (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.
Forster entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks at the 1892 general election. He held that seat until 1918, when he was elected for the new Bromley constituency. In 1901, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Kent. He served as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from August 1902 to 1905 in the Conservative Government of Arthur Balfour, and as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1915 to 1919 in the wartime coalition government. In 1919 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Forster, of Lepe in the County of Southampton.