Born in Lille on 22 November 1890 into a Catholic and patriotic family, the son of a professor of literature and history, the young Charles studied with the Jesuits and opted for a military career at Saint-Cyr very early on. During World War One, he was injured three times and then made prisoner during the battle of Verdun, in 1916. He would be freed in November 1918. In 1921, he married Yvonne Vendroux, which whom he would have three children (Philippe, Elisabeth and Anne).

As an officer, through a series of publications he expanded on his military theories on the need for an armoured corps and the creation of a professional army. In May-June 1940, Colonel de Gaulle took part in the French campaign and distinguished himself leading its tanks on several occasions, most notably stopping the Germans in Abbeville (27-30 May 1940). He was made Brigade General and, on 6 June 1940, was appointed Secretary of State for War and the National Defence in the Reynaud government.

The Man of 18 June

While Marshall Pétain asked the French to "cease fighting", on 17 June, General de Gaulle left for London to carry on with the war. On 18 June 1940, from London, he made his famous appeal across the airwaves of the BBC, exhorting the French to keep on fighting, finishing with these words: "The flame of the French resistance must not and will not be extinguished". Free France was born. The rebellious General was sentenced to death in absentia in August by the Vichy regime.

Recognised by Churchill as the "leader of the Free French", De Gaulle organised the armed forces that would become the Free French Forces (FFL), which fought with the Allies on all fronts. He gradually managed to rally the internal resistance movements under his authority and to impose the legitimacy of Free France upon the Allies. In liberated Paris, in August 1944, the General spoke his famous words: "Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people". As the President of the provisional government, he restored the Republic and laid the foundations for a new France.

In disagreement with the political parties over the new constitution, General de Gaulle resigned from the Government in January 1946. In his speech in Bayeux, on 16 June, he set out a real constitutional project with a strong executive and clear separation of powers. Hostile to the Constitution of the 4th Republic, this "regime of parties", he started a movement, the Rally of the French People (RPF). Despite its impressive early success, the RPF declined from 1953. General de Gaulle then began his "crossing of the desert". He retired to Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises and wrote his War Memoirs.

The President of the 5th Republic

Having established himself as the only person to solve the Algerian conflict, General de Gaulle was called to the head of the Government in May 1958. He gave France a new Constitution and became the first President of the 5th Republic in December 1958. After having introduced elections by direct universal suffrage in 1962, he was directly re-elected by the French in 1965. His government carried out far-reaching reforms that supported the economic prosperity of the 60s. The General's France asserted itself on the international stage, establishing the idea of national independence against the tense backdrop of the Cold War and decolonisation. National independence that we see at the heart of the construction of Europe that the General pursued. Finally, De Gaulle was a forceful embodiment of the rekindling of the Franco-German friendship.

After the crisis of May 1968, in April 1969 the General called a referendum on regionalisation and Senate reform. The "no's" won: General Gaulle then immediately handed in his resignation and withdrew definitively from political life. On 9 November 1970, Charles de Gaulle passed away in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, where he is buried.