Salan, Raoul Albi Louis (1899-1984)

French general. As commander-in-chief of France's forces in Algeria 1956-58 he was instrumental in securing Charles de Gaulle's return to government in the crisis of 1958. However, after the failure of his Algiers putsch with General Challe in April 1961, Salan founded the terrorist Organization de l'Armée Secrète (OAS) from his base in Spain, plotting de Gaulle's assassination. Arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1962, he was amnestied by President de Gaulle in 1968.

A professional soldier, Salan had been commander-in-chief in Indochina when the Mendès-France government negotiated France's withdrawal following her humiliating defeat at Dien-Bien-Phu. Salan's subsequent hostility to de Gaulle's tactical manoeuvring towards Algerian independence led to his recall to France in late 1958, and to his retirement from the army in 1960.