The Life Of Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was a French military leader and statesman that enjoyed a very long life from November 22, 1890 until November 9, 1970. Charles de Gaulle was commonly known as general de Gaulle in reference to his military career. Prior to World War II many people did not know the name of Charles de Gaulle but that changed during the war and after. Charles de Gaulle has a huge part in French history; there is no doubt about it.

Before World War II Charles de Gaulle was known for his skills as a tank tactician or possibly as a strong advocate for the rigorous use of armored and aviation forces. But, things would soon change as Charles de Gaulle was the leader of Free France during World War II as well the as the head of the provisional government from 1944-1946.

Charles de Gaulle was destined to be an intellectual as he came from a family that was very well read and educated. Charles de Gaulle was the third child of a conservative Catholic family. Charles de Gaulle came by his interest and social and political abilities naturally as his fathers family was a long line of aristocrats from Normandy and Burgundy that had settled in Paris. He was fated to be entrepreneurial as well as his mother’s family was rich entrepreneurs! Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, but grew up and was well educated in Paris. The most ancient family member of Charles de Gaulle was actually a squire of King Philip Augustus in the 12th century; meaning Charles had political ties all over in his family history. Charles grew up in a home where political debates were a form of entertainment and his father introduced him to conservative authors from a very early age.

Charles de Gaulle grew up in a very political household, though they were also very patriotic. As a boy Charles was raise in the “cult of the Nation” as his parents were passionate about the land in which they lived. They were a traditional monarchist family, but they respected the French Republic very much. The social ideas of the family were quite liberal and they were strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic Church. The family was known to support Alfred Dreyfus during the Dreyfus affair, meaning they distanced themselves quite a bit from the more conservative nationalist circles.

Charles de Gaulle was called to form a government in 1958 and he encouraged a new constitution to help shape the government. He was also the Fifth Republics first president and he held office from 1958 until 1969. The ideology of Charles de Gaulle eventually became known as Gaullism. The ideology of Charles de Gaulle needed a name as it had such a major impact on French politics from that point forward.

Charles de Gaulle actually resigned presidency on April 28, 1969 after a referendum or request to transform the Senate into a consultative board was defeated. The request would extend powers to regional councils and make the Senate more of a counseling board. Many thought that the request for this transformation would be political suicide. As Charles de Gaulle had proved many times during his political career, he didn’t want to stay in power if he did not have widespread support. Charles de Gaulle felt as though the defeat of his referendum meant he did not have the backing he needed, so he resigned from the post of presidency.

After his resignation Charles de Gaulle withdrew to Colombey-les-deux-Eglises where he set about writing his memoirs. Charles de Gaulle, the father of three children and a well-known politician died suddenly on November 9, 1970 from a aneurysm. Charles was in the midst of writing his memoirs when he suddenly grabbed his neck and complained that it hurt and collapsed to his death a few minutes later. Sadly, Charles de Gaulle died a poor man, which is not common for politicians, but his family was forced to sell the Boisserie residence. Luckily, the home was bought and is now the Charles de Gaulle museum.

Charles de Gaulle did not die on top of his political game, but he offered one final dressing-down to the establishment and their protocol by asking that no presidents or ministers be allowed to attend his funeral. Charles also asked that just his name and the years of his birth and death be inscribed on his tombstone, as he didn’t want anything more. It was a humble death for someone who had been in the political spotlight for so long, but the fact that his ideology is still in use today is worth more than any amount of money.