ABSTRACT
Born in Lille, in northern France, on November 22, 1890, to a family with a long history of military service, de Gaulle enlisted in the army in 1909, entering the prestigious military academy of Saint. De Gaulle was asked to form a government to resolve the crisis. He abolished the constitution of the Fourth Republic. The new constitution of the Fifth Republic, still in force, gave greater powers to the president, especially in foreign affairs. Charles de Gaulle, in part because of his leadership in World War II, brought stability to the French political system after the war, repositioned France from a colonial power to an ally of Third World nations, and ensured that France would play a leading role in unifying European political and economic institutions. In colonial matters, de Gaulle came to realize that France had to relinquish its empire and renegotiate its relationship with the new post—colonial nation—states.
