1.
Charles de Gaulle
22 November 1890

2.
The Beginning…
 Born in Lille, Educated in Paris at College
Stanislas
 Fought in WWI as a Captain, wounded
several times, captured and spent the rest of
the war in Germany
 Post-war served as an advisor in Poland, won
the Virtutis Military (Highest Polish Decoration)
 Returned to France after being offered a job in
Poland

3.
Exciting times!…War…encore
 De Gaulle started the war as a colonel
 Lead a successful Armored Division during the
invasion of France 1940
 Designated the liaison to the UK
 Opposed the surrender of France to Germany, fled
to London established Free France
 "France has no friends, only interests.”
 Lead the Free French Forces in their liberation of
France.

4.
Post War France, what now?
 Became the President of the Provisional Government of
the French Republic
 Attempted to maintain French Indochina.
 Resigned power after disagreeing with the new
constitution and a parliamentary system in 1946

5.
Post War France, what now?
1946 to 1958 his “Formal Retirement” Wrote his war
memoires.
May 1958 Crisis…Defeats in Indochina… independence
of Tunisia and Morocco and defeat in Egypt and the
“Algerian Question”
De Gaulle is back!

6.
The 5th Republic
 Nov 1958 De Gaulle voted in.
 Issued new France
 Pressed for Nuclear Weapons
 Made Treaties with Germany
 Pushed for European Integration
 Granted Independence to Algeria (Complicated)

7.
All good things come to an end
 Left NATO’s Military Command
 All NATO Forces left France 1967
 1960 France became a Nuclear Power n Recognized
Communist China
 “May 68” Huge Demonstrations and Strikes
challenged De Gaulle’s Government
 “Reform Yes, Chaos no”

8.
Works and Inventions
 Charles wrote memoirs after resigning as
president of France in January of 1946.
 de Gaulle continued to write more memoirs after
resigning as president of France again in 1969.

9.
Why de Gaulle is
Remembered Today
 Charles was the best-known figure in the French
Resistance in WWII.
 de Gaulle was the first president of France.
 His best service to his country was preserving
democracy in France.
Charles de Gaulle
delivering a speech on the
radio during World War II.

10.
Legacy & quates
 Airport
 “The General”
 General De Gaulle
 A powerful France that stud up for itself

11.
The End
 De Gaulle Dissolves Parliament, reelections were
held his party did well but he remained unpopular
 Too old, too self-centered, too authoritarian, too
conservative and too anti-American
 Resigned 1969, following rejection of his reforms
for senate in a nationwide referendum.
 Continued to write memories and then died in 1970
suddenly while writing. He was quite healthy even
after recovering from Prostate Cancer.