\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri195 \f1 \b Charles De Gaulle\par
\par
\b0 Born in\b \cf4 \ATXht256 \ATXul1024 Lille\b0 \ATXul0 \cf0 \ATXht0 in 1890, Charles de
Gaulle had a brilliant career as a young officer and, after the First World War, argued for the importance of a motorized and armored fighting force. Made a general and Under Secretary of State for War in 1940, he was opposed to the armistice recommended
by Marshal PΘtain. Fleeing to London in June 1940, he called for resistance and the continuation of the struggle against the Germans. His energy earned him the position of representative of France with the Allies and he formed the country's first govern
ment after its liberation in 1944. Two years later he resigned and did not return to power until 1958, taking advantage of the chaotic situation brought about by the war in Algeria. The founder of the Fifth Republic, he was baffled by the events of 1968
and stepped down in 1969 after a referendum that he had called was rejected. He died the following year.\par