Charles de Gaulle was a leader in the French Resistance.
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( [ ʃaʁl də ɡol ] ; 22 November 1890 -- 9 November 1970 ) was a French general and statesman . He was the leader of Free France ( 1940 -- 44 ) and the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic ( 1944 -- 46 ) . Despite frosty relations with Britain and especially the United States , he emerged as the undisputed leader of the French resistance .