Charles de Gaulle - Presidential Election

On 21 December 1958, Charles de Gaulle was at last elected President of the French Republic. A few months before, he was brought out of retirement to help the Counsel of the Fourth Republic deal with the crisis in Algeria.

In 1945 after the end of WWII, De Gaulle was opposed to the new constitution defining the Fourth Republic, his stance led to his "retirement". The 1958 crisis opened the door for a new constitution and De Gaulle seized it.

His constitution was ratified by a referendum. The new constitution redefined the way powers are distributed in France. Once De Gaulle was President, he also modified the electoral process: all the French would vote instead of a "college of grand electors" which was the way in the past.

If you'd like to hear more about the "Great Charles", check out my tour on WWII Occupation & Liberation of Paris!