Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II and later founded the Fifth French Republic, serving as its first president.
After France's defeat by Nazi Germany in 1940, de Gaulle fled to England and became the leader of the Free French Forces, rallying French resistance and Allied support from exile throughout the war.
He briefly led France's provisional government after liberation before returning to power in 1958 amid a political crisis, drafting a new constitution that established the Fifth French Republic with a stronger executive presidency.
De Gaulle served as president until 1969, pursuing an independent French foreign policy and overseeing the peaceful end of French colonial rule in Algeria, and remains one of the most significant figures in modern French history.