De Gaulle Becomes President of France
Charles de Gaulle, a prominent figure in French history, became the first president of the Fifth Republic of France on June 1, 1958. Initially a war hero in World War II, de Gaulle played a crucial role in leading the Free French government in exile after France's defeat by Germany. Following a brief period as provisional president after the war, he resigned in 1946 due to dissatisfaction with the Fourth Republic's structure. However, amid a crisis over Algerian independence in 1958, he was recalled from retirement and tasked with drafting a new constitution, leading to the establishment of the Fifth Republic, where he gained substantial presidential powers.
De Gaulle's presidency was marked by significant decisions, including supporting Algerian independence, implementing economic reforms, and establishing a French nuclear deterrent. He also sought to enhance France's global standing, often taking controversial stances against the United States and other nations. Although he was reelected in 1965 and maintained support during civil unrest in 1968, he ultimately resigned in 1969 after the failure of a referendum. De Gaulle's leadership left a lasting impact on France's political landscape, and he passed away shortly before his 80th birthday in 1970.
De Gaulle Becomes President of France
De Gaulle Becomes President of France
Charles De Gaulle, whose full name was Charles André Joseph Marie De Gaulle, became the first president of the Fifth Republic of France on June 1, 1958. France's foremost war hero during World War II, he was the controversial leader of the nation for the next 11 years.
De Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890, in Lille, France. He was educated at the St.-Cyr Military Academy and fought in World War I until he was taken prisoner in 1916 by the Germans at the Battle of Verdun. After the war he stayed in the army, serving in the personal staff of Marshal Henri Pétain and gaining distinction for himself by strongly advocating the development of highly mechanized and mobile armored divisions. By World War II he was a colonel and was quickly promoted to brigadier general after war broke out with Germany. De Gaulle's advice about armored divisions proved to be accurate, but unfortunately, it was a strategy which the Germans had implemented much more effectively than the French. When the Germans went on the offensive, their tanks quickly sliced through French forces and reached Paris within a matter of weeks.
While Pétain became the leader of France and negotiated a humiliating armistice with Germany, De Gaulle left for London and formed the Free French government in exile. In 1942 his organization was formally recognized by the Allies as the legitimate government of France. De Gaulle's Free French forces assisted the Allies in their liberation of France in 1944, and after the war he became the provisional president of France while the new Fourth Republic was organized. His tenure as leader was short-lived, however, since he was dissatisfied with the organization of the republic, and he resigned in January 1946. De Gaulle worked from the sidelines, and for a while his followers were a powerful force in the French legislature, but by 1953 his influence had waned and he went into retirement.
In 1958 France faced a new crisis, this time over its colony of Algeria in North Africa. Many Algerians were demanding independence, and the issue was so divisive within France itself that civil war nearly erupted, aggravated further by French defeats in their Vietnamese territories. De Gaulle was recalled from retirement and chosen by the legislature to be the new president. He took office on June 1, 1958, with a six-month mandate to rule until he could draft a new constitution for the country and hold elections. The result was the formation of the Fifth Republic, and De Gaulle won election as its first president with 78 percent of the vote in the December 1958 elections. He was sworn into office on January 8, 1959. The new republic gave much greater powers to the president than the previous republic, and De Gaulle was prepared to use them.
As president, De Gaulle ended the Algerian crisis by supporting independence, which was finally realized in 1962 despite the bitter resistance of many French nationalist groups. De Gaulle's prestige as a war hero and the savior of France enabled him to win the debate. He also successfully instituted many tough economic reforms, built an independent French nuclear deterrent, and worked to build the economic alliance of nations known as the European Economic Community (EEC). However, De Gaulle also withdrew France from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, blocked British entry into the EEC, tried to undermine the position of the American dollar as the leading medium of international exchange, was openly critical of the United States and Israel, and offended the government of Canada during an official state visit by publicly endorsing the cause of Quebec separatism. Although he was reelected president in 1965 and the country rallied behind him during the student riots and economic crises of 1968, De Gaulle resigned from office on April 28, 1969, after he lost a national referendum over his proposal to make the French Senate an advisory body while increasing power at the local level. He died on November 19, 1970, in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, just days before his 80th birthday.