Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was a French army officer who refused the 1940 armistice and called from London on 18 June for continued resistance. Churchill recognized him as leader of the Free French on 27 June 1940, and he went on to unite the external forces with the internal Resistance. He led the Provisional Government from 1944 until 1946. Returning to power during the Algerian crisis of 1958, he drafted a new constitution approved by referendum, founding the Fifth Republic, and served as its first president from 1959. He resigned in April 1969 after voters rejected his referendum on regional and Senate reform.

Admirers see de Gaulle as the symbol of French resistance, the founder of a stable republic and the defender of French independence; Gaullism remains a reference point across French politics. Critics argued that the Fifth Republic concentrated too much power in the presidency, and opponents such as François Mitterrand called it a permanent coup. The protests of May 1968 and the loss of the 1969 referendum showed the limits of his authority, and his Algeria policy angered both settlers and independence supporters. His 1967 cry of "Long Live Free Quebec!" during a visit to Canada caused a diplomatic dispute.