For other people with similar names, see Francis Ford (disambiguation).
The Right Honourable
Frank Forde
Forde in 1945
15th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 6 July 1945 – 13 July 1945
Monarch
George VI
Governor‑General
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Preceded by
John Curtin
Succeeded by
Ben Chifley
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 16 February 1932 – 31 October 1946
Leader
James Scullin
John Curtin
Ben Chifley
Preceded by
Ted Theodore
Succeeded by
H. V. Evatt
Member of the Australian Parliament for Capricornia
In office 16 December 1922 – 28 September 1946
Preceded by
William Higgs
Succeeded by
Charles Davidson
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
In office 12 May 1917 – 5 October 1922
Preceded by
John Adamson
Succeeded by
George Farrell
Constituency
Rockhampton
In office 12 March 1955 – 3 August 1957
Preceded by
Ernest Riordan
Succeeded by
Bill Longeran
Constituency
Flinders
Personal details
Born
Francis Michael Forde
(1890-07-18)18 July 1890 Mitchell, Queensland Colony
Died
28 January 1983(1983-01-28) (aged 92) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place
Toowong Cemetery, Queensland
Political party
Labor
Spouse
Veronica O'Reilly
(m. 1925; died 1967)
Children
4
Education
St Mary's College, Toowoomba
Occupation
Schoolteacher
telegraphist
politician
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 – 28 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945, in a caretaker capacity following the death of John Curtin. He was deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946 and is the shortest-serving prime minister in Australia's history.
Forde was born in Mitchell, Queensland, to Irish immigrant parents. He eventually settled in Rockhampton, and was a schoolteacher and telegraphist before entering politics. Having joined the ALP at a young age, Forde was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1917, aged 26. He transferred to the House of Representatives at the 1922 federal election, winning the Division of Capricornia. Forde was an assistant minister and minister in the Scullin government from 1929 to 1932, and was largely responsible for the government's policy of tariff increases during the Great Depression. He entered the cabinet in 1931 as Minister for Trade and Customs.
After Labor's landslide defeat at the 1931 election, Forde was elected deputy leader in place of Ted Theodore. He was expected to become party leader after Scullin's retirement in 1935 but lost to John Curtin by one vote. He returned to cabinet in 1941 as Minister for the Army in the Curtin government, and as the de facto deputy prime minister was one of the government's most prominent figures. When John Curtin died in office in 1945, Forde was appointed prime minister to serve while the Labor Party elected a new leader. He contested the leadership ballot against Ben Chifley and Norman Makin, but Chifley emerged victorious.
Forde continued on as deputy leader and army minister in the Chifley government, but lost his seat at the 1946 election. He then was High Commissioner to Canada from 1947 to 1953. Forde attempted to re-enter federal parliament in 1954, but was unsuccessful. He won a state by-election in Queensland the following year – the only former prime minister to enter state parliament – but served only a single term before again being defeated. Forde died at the age of 92, and was accorded a state funeral; Gough Whitlam is the only prime minister to have lived to a greater age.
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 – 28 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July...
(born 1974), Irish hurling selector and former coach, manager and player FrankForde (1890–1983), Prime Minister of Australia Francis Ford (disambiguation)...
Curtin was elected party leader in place of James Scullin, defeating FrankForde by a single vote. The party gained seats at the 1937 and 1940 elections...
Forde ministry (Labor) was the 31st ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 15th prime minister, FrankForde. The Forde Ministry...
malapportioned. The division was created in 1984 and is named after FrankForde, who was Prime Minister of Australia for seven days in 1945 following...
Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the shortest-serving was FrankForde, who served one week. In common with other political systems based on...
Fisher served three non-consecutive terms. The prime ministership of FrankForde, who was prime minister for seven days in 1945, was the shortest in Australian...
Curtin's death in office in 1945, defeating caretaker prime minister FrankForde in a leadership ballot. At the 1946 Australian federal election, Chifley...
the Forde ministry on 6 July 1945 following the death of Curtin - the second of three occasions where a sitting Prime Minister died in office. Frank Forde...
the 1946 federal election. FrankForde, who died in 1983, was the last surviving member of the First Chifley ministry; Forde was also the last surviving...
the 1943 federal election. FrankForde, who died in 1983, was the last surviving member of the First Curtin ministry; Forde was also the last surviving...
Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Retrieved 2 November 2021. "FrankForde". Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Retrieved 2...
defeating three other candidates: deputy leader and interim prime minister FrankForde, navy minister Norman Makin, and attorney-general Herbert Evatt. John...
Full name: John Joseph Ambrose Curtin Bumble Full name: Francis Michael Forde Full name: Joseph Benedict Chifley Full name: Harold Edward Holt Full name:...
after a single term in office. FrankForde, who died in 1983, was the last surviving member of the Scullin ministry; Forde was also the last surviving minister...
James Scullin. John Curtin was elected as his replacement, defeating FrankForde and Norman Makin, and consequently became Leader of the Opposition. Scullin...
ones in which they were born. Scullin Lyons Page Menzies Fadden Curtin Forde Chifley McEwen Melbourne (see below) Hawke Rudd Sydney (see below) Reid...
of any other prime minister. The shortest serving prime minister was FrankForde, who served in the position in an interim capacity for one week in July...
was the case upon the death in office of John Curtin on 5 July 1945. FrankForde, the deputy party leader, was sworn in as interim prime minister until...
He served as a government minister under James Scullin, John Curtin, FrankForde, and Ben Chifley. Holloway was born in Hobart, the son of a stonemason...
Australia's third shortest serving prime minister, after Earle Page and FrankForde. He remained as deputy prime minister until his retirement from politics...
as were many of his later ministerial colleagues such as Frank Anstey, John Curtin and Frank Brennan. He became a foundation member of his local Political...
to Australia in 1954. In 1955, she married (Francis) Gerald Forde, the son of FrankForde, a former Prime Minister of Australia and High Commissioner...
replaced as Nationalist leader by Stanley Bruce. Future Prime Minister FrankForde and future opposition leader John Latham both entered parliament at this...
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