Charles de Gaulle (22 November 1890 - 9 November 1970), in France, was a French military leader and statesman.
Prior to World War II he was mostly known as a tank tactician and an advocate of the concentrated use of armored and aviation forces. He was the leader of Free France in World War II and head of the provisional government during 1944 - 1946. Called to form a government in 1958, he inspired a new constitution1 and was the Fifth Republic's first president, serving from 1958 to 1969. His political ideology is known as Gaullism, and it has been a major influence in subsequent French politics.
