Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (French: Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle; November 22, 1890 - November 9, 1970) was a French strategist and politician who led the Free French Movement during World War II and briefly served as interim president after the war. He was later forced to resign due to leftist parties' opposition to his constitution that required strengthening the powers of the president. In 1958, the Fifth French Republic was established and he served as its first president. The French usually call de Gaulle "General de Gaulle" or even simply "General". De Gaulle attended the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in 1909 and received the Legion of Honor for his outstanding performance in World War I. During the interwar period, de Gaulle was active in different military departments and published many ideas on army building, mentioning the importance of tanks, professional armies, and modern armored mobile warfare. After the outbreak of World War II, he commanded the French armored division and fought many battles with the German army, and was later appointed Deputy Minister of War. After Philippe Pétain came to power, he resolutely fled to London, England, to form a Free French government to fight against the Vichy France led by Pétain. After the Free French and Allied armies liberated Paris in 1944, de Gaulle became chairman of the provisional government of the French Republic. He resigned in 1946 because he opposed the president's lack of real power and failed in the political struggle with the left. In 1958, de Gaulle returned to politics due to the Algerian War, formulated a new constitution, established the French Fifth Republic and was elected as the first president. He was successfully re-elected in 1965 until he resigned due to a defeat in the referendum in 1969. After de Gaulle left office, he concentrated on writing his memoirs and died in 1970. De Gaulle was well versed in power tactics and had mixed reputations. He was praised by Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, Churchill, Khrushchev, and Kissinger, but he was also criticized by Stalin, Roosevelt and others. Its supporters believe that de Gaulle saved France from danger and restored France's international status; opponents believe that de Gaulle created his own personal myth and was contrary to the democratic system. The French government and the public generally regard de Gaulle as a great head of state in French history, and named the capital airport and French aircraft carrier after him.