Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (November 22, 1890 – November 9, 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first president from 1959 to 1969.
Immensely patriotic, de Gaulle and his supporters held the view, known as Gaullism, that France should continue to see itself as a major power and should not rely on other countries, such as the United States, for its national security and prosperity. Often criticized for his "Politics of Grandeur", de Gaulle oversaw the development of French atomic weapons and promoted a foreign policy independent of American and British influences.
During his term, de Gaulle also faced controversy and political opposition from Anarchists, Communists and Socialists, as well as from the far right. Despite having been re-elected as president in 1965, in May 1968, he appeared likely to lose power amidst widespread protests by students and workers, but survived the crisis. However, de Gaulle resigned in 1969 after losing a referendum in which he proposed more decentralization.
De Gaulle is widely considered to be the most influential leader in modern French history. During the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, French ornithologist Cécile Cosima Caminades recalled de Gaulle's presidency while discussing her home country with Big Boss, while data analyst Mei Ling quoted him to Solid Snake, during the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005.
Behind the scenes
Charles de Gaulle plays a minor role in the non-canon game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, where he is described as being responsible for granting independence to the fictional Central African country of Gindra.
Charles de Gaulle is only mentioned in the English version of Metal Gear Solid, due to the addition of various Western sources by translator Jeremy Blaustein for the character Mei Ling to avoid having some of her speeches becoming redundant, as she originally just translated Asian sources into Japanese.
- Metal Gear Solid (mentioned; English version only)
- Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (mentioned; non-canon)
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (mentioned)