Michael P. E. Hoyt

Michael Phelps Evans Hoyt (Chicago, 16 November 1929 — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 14 December 2016) was an American Foreign Service Officer and, as his country's consul in Stanleyville, a hostage for 111 days during the Simba rebellion.

Michael Phelps Evans Hoyt
Secretary's Award of Michael P.E. Hoyt
Consul of the United States in Stanleyville
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson
Personal details
Born(1929-11-16)November 16, 1929
Chicago
DiedDecember 14, 2016(2016-12-14) (aged 87)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
SpouseJo Wasson
Children4
Parents
EducationNorthwestern University (graduate studies in economics and African affairs)
Alma materUniversity of Illinois (Master's Degree in Modern European History)
AwardsSecretary's Award

Early life and family

Michael Hoyt was born in 1929 as the son of Frank and Elizabeth Hoyt.[1] His father Frank C. Hoyt was a quantum physicst involved in the Manhattan Project[2] Hoyt married Jo Wasson in 1954. He became air traffic controller during the Korean War.

Diplomatic career

Para-Commandos at the airport of Stanleyville

Hoyt entered US diplomatic service in 1956 and would serve in diplomatic and consular positions in Pakistan, Morocco, Congo, Cameroon, Burundi, Nigeria, Switzerland, and Washington DC.[1] He was the consul of the United States in Stanleyville (current-day Kisangani) at the time of the Simba Rebellion, rebels in the East of the country who claimed to be successors to first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Hoyt negotiated with the rebels, but was at times beaten by the rebels. One episode saw Hoyt and his four assistants in the consulate retire to the office's strong room, leaving one whisky bottle behind for the rebels. The Simba rebels soon reeled away.[3] On 24 November 1964, US and Belgian regiments drove back the rebels during the joint Operation Dragon Rouge. The European and American hostages were rescued, but many foreigners including Paul Carlson died during the raid. Hoyt arrived back in the United States on 26 November 1964.[4] For his "outstanding courage and dignity" during the rebellion, Hoyt was awarded the Secretary's Award of the Department of State.[5]

Hoyt was the Chargé d'affaires in Burundi during the Ikiza killings, often characterised as a genocide, in June 1972, replacing Thomas Patrick Melady.[6]

Honours

Bibliography

  • Hoyt, Michael (1962). Migratory Labor in West Africa. Northwestern University Program of African Studies.
  • Hoyt, Michael (1996-11-01). "Bloodshed in Burundi" (PDF). Foreign Service Journal: 54–57.
  • Hoyt, Michael (2000). Captive in the Congo: A Consul's Return to the Heart of Darkness. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-323-0.[7]
  • Hoyt, Michael (2014). "THE COMMERCIAL AGENT'S LAMENT - Congo: The Miserable Expeditions and Dreadful Death of Lt. Emory Taunt, USN. By Andrew C. A. Jampoler. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2013. Pp. xii 256. $44.95, hardback (ISBN 978-1-61251-079-8)". The Journal of African History. 55 (1): 119–121. doi:10.1017/S0021853713000947. S2CID 161955848.

Further reading

References

  1. "Michael P.E. Hoyt Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  2. Kuhn, Thomas S. (1964-04-28). "Frank Hoyt". American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  3. "The Congo: That Man, C'est Moi". Time. 1964-08-14. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  4. "U.S. CONSUL IS BACK FROM STANLEYVILLE". The New York Times. 1964-11-27. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  5. Constable, Anne (2016-08-26). "Decades after surviving captivity, former U.S. Foreign Service officer honored". The Santa Fe New Mexican.
  6. "The United States and Burundi in 1972" (PDF). Foreign Service Journal: 9. 1973-11-01.
  7. Hadsel, Fred (April 2001). "Captive in the Congo: A Consul's Return to the Heart of Darkness". The Journal of Military History. 65 (2): 569–570. doi:10.2307/2677247. ISSN 0899-3718. JSTOR 2677247. ProQuest 195618181.
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