When John Curtin died in office in 1945, Forde was appointed prime minister to serve while the Labor Party elected a new leader.

[1] His role as president of the Rockhampton branch of the ANA "marked the beginning of participation in community debates and public life".

The bitterly fought by-election was successfully contested by Labor's George Farrell, who had worked on Forde's federal campaign.

Fenton was absent from the country or otherwise occupied for most of 1930, including as Acting Prime Minister for five months while Scullin attended the 1930 Imperial Conference in London.

Forde oversaw the Department of Trade and Customs in Fenton's absence, and also deputised for Parker Moloney, the Minister for Markets and Transport.

When Fenton and Joseph Lyons resigned from cabinet in February 1931, Forde was elected to one of the vacancies and appointed Minister for Trade and Customs.

[1] Forde was the "principal architect" of the Scullin government's policy of high tariffs, which aimed to reduce the effect of the Great Depression on secondary industries.

[13] Unusually, Forde sought advice on the matter not only from his departmental head Ernest Hall, but also from solicitor-general Robert Garran and private barrister J. V.

[15] His decision to ban Redheap was controversial and came under attack from libertarian and anti-censorship elements within his party, particularly from Lindsay's home state of Victoria.

[8] However, at the 1930 ALP Federal Conference, attempts to censure Forde failed, and a watered down resolution was passed supporting freedom of expression but allowing for censorship of "licentious and pornographic literature".

[16] Forde later authorised the banning of Frederic Manning's The Middle Parts of Fortune, overriding departmental advice, and refused an appeal from Jean Devanny to unban her novel The Butcher Shop.

A ballot for the party's leadership positions was held on 16 February 1932, at which Scullin was re-elected unopposed as leader and Forde was elected as his deputy.

With Scullin suffering frequent bouts of ill health, Forde was Acting Leader of the Opposition on a number occasions.

[9] He was the de facto Deputy Prime Minister, but was disappointed not to be appointed Treasurer in the new government; that position was instead awarded to Ben Chifley.

[18] As army minister, Forde held responsibility for internment of enemy aliens during World War II and administration of the prisoner-of-war camps.

[19] In the same month Forde delegated authority to the army's Northern Command to detain all enemy aliens suspected of "anti-British sentiment".

[20] His use of "master warrants" to detain enemy aliens brought him into conflict with attorney-general H. V. Evatt, a civil libertarian, who concluded some internments were "unjustified or frivolous".

[21] Forde did begin to release enemy alien internees in 1944 on the grounds they were needed for food production, although many remained in detention until the end of the war.

[22] He supported the principle that detainees could become naturalised citizens after the war's end,[23] and also opposed suggestions that Japanese prisoners-of-war who died in Australia should not be buried in the same cemeteries as Australians.

[24] In March 1942, Forde authorised the internment of twenty people connected with the Australia First Movement, including writer Percy Stephensen and suffragette Adela Pankhurst, announcing in parliament that the detainees intended to collaborate with the Japanese and had plans to carry out industrial sabotage and political assassinations.

[25] Only four of the Australia First detainees were charged with offences, with the others remaining detained without trial until the end of the war in spite of legal advice received by Evatt that they had not committed crimes or breached any regulations.

[26] A committee of inquiry appointed by the government concluded in 1945 that the detention of eight of the Australia First detainees was unjustified and recommended compensation payments be made.

[27] In April 1945, Forde left Australia to attend the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco.

[28] On the day that Curtin died, Forde issued a brief statement announcing the death, and then in the afternoon moved a condolence motion at a brief sitting of parliament.

On the morning of the following day, 6 July, he led a procession of MPs past Curtin's coffin at Parliament House, where his body was lying in state.

In the afternoon, Forde attended a memorial service, and then went to Government House, where he was formally sworn in as prime minister by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the Governor-General.

[36] After returning to Australia, Forde was given a civic reception at Brisbane City Hall by Lord Mayor Frank Roberts.

[39] In February 1954, Forde nominated for ALP preselection for the Division of Wide Bay, following the withdrawal of the previous endorsed candidate.

On 11 April 1964, at the request of Prime Minister Robert Menzies, Forde represented Australia at MacArthur's funeral in Norfolk, Virginia.

Indeed, it was at Forde's funeral that Senator John Button told then Labor leader Bill Hayden that he must step aside in favor of Hawke, which he did.