Charles de Gaulle
/də ˈɡəʊl
/ /də ˈɡɔːl/ /də ɡol/ (1890–1970), French general and statesman, head of government 1944-6, president 1959–69; full name Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle. A wartime organizer of the Free French movement, he is remembered particularly for his assertive foreign policy and for quelling the student uprisings and strikes of May 1968.