GIRAUD, HENRI(-HONOR)

born Jan. 18, 1879, Paris died March 11, 1949, Dijon, Fr. army officer and one of the leaders, in World War II, of the French Committee of National Liberation. After graduating from Saint-Cyr in 1900, Giraud first served in Morocco and was captured by the Germans during World War I. Returning to North Africa in 1922, he participated in the Rif War. Early in World War II, he commanded an army but was again captured in May 1940. Escaping in April 1942, he negotiated with the Allies and was brought to North Africa in the wake of the Anglo-American landings (November 1942), where he became commander in chief of the French forces rallied to the war against Germany and Italy. Co-president with Charles de Gaulle of the French Committee of National Liberation from June to October 1943, Giraud retired in April 1944 over differences with de Gaulle. After the war he was elected to the Constituent Assembly and served as vice president of the Supreme War Council.