, the division's namesake The division was created in 1984 and is named after
Frank Forde, who was
Prime Minister of Australia for seven days in 1945 following the death of
John Curtin. When it was created it was a marginal seat in the southern suburbs of
Brisbane, but it now has no territory in common with the original seat and is located in exurban and semi-rural areas south of the city, including
Beenleigh and
Loganlea. It was a fairly safe seat for the
Liberal Party after the 2004 election.
Kay Elson announced that she would not re-contest her seat in the
2007 election. Wendy Creighton, a Boonah resident and editor of the local newspaper, the
Fassifern Guardian, contested Forde as the Liberal candidate instead. She was defeated at the Federal election by
Brett Raguse, the opposing
Labor Party candidate, making Forde the safest Liberal Party seat to be claimed by the Labor Party at the 2007 election. The seat returned to the LNP with
Bert van Manen in 2010. Incumbent van Manen then held on to the seat during the 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022 elections. Ahead of the
2016 federal election,
ABC psephologist Antony Green listed the seat in his election guide as one of eleven which he classed as
bellwether electorates.
Roy Morgan Research found the Division of Forde to be the least politically involved electorate in Australia, with only 7% of voters interested in political analysis as a type of media content. Bert van Manen was defeated by Labor candidate
Rowan Holzberger at the
2025 federal election. This was the second federal election contested by Holzberger, the first being in
2022, which he lost by approximately 8,500 votes. ==Members==