Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower rose to world prominence through his leadership of the Allied forces during World War II. As commanding general of American forces in Europe, he conducted successful campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. As supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, he directed the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, and the subsequent military campaign—one of the most complex such operations in history—that culminated in victory over Nazism. He became America's 34th president in 1952 and was easily reelected the nation's chief executive in 1956.