Michael Phelps Evans Hoyt ( Chicago, 16 November 1929 —

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

, 14 December 2016) was an American

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

and, as his country's consul in Stanleyville, a hostage for 111 days during the Simba rebellion.

Early life and family

Michael Hoyt was born in 1929 as the son of Frank and Elizabeth Hoyt. His father

Frank C. Hoyt Frank Clark Hoyt (12 September 1898 – 30 January 1980) was an American physicist, regarded as one of the first theoretical physicists to come from the USA in the period that quantum mechanics was being developed. Biography He was born to Car ...

was a quantum physicist involved in the Manhattan Project. Hoyt married Jo Wasson in 1954. He became an air traffic controller during the Korean War.

Diplomatic career

Hoyt entered US diplomatic service in 1956 and would serve in diplomatic and consular positions in Pakistan, Morocco,

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

, Cameroon,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, Nigeria,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and Washington DC. 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. 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 Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

died during the raid. Hoyt arrived back in the United States on 26 November 1964. For his "outstanding courage and dignity" during the rebellion, Hoyt was awarded the Secretary's Award of the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

. Hoyt was the

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

during the Ikiza killings, often characterised as a genocide, in June 1972, replacing Thomas Patrick Melady.

Honours

* In August 2016, representative of New Mexico

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Tom Udall, Bobbie Ferrell, presented the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

to Hoyt.

Bibliography

* * * *

References

1929 births 2016 deaths University of Illinois alumni People of the Congo Crisis American consuls 20th-century American diplomats {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Michael P. E.

Early life and family

Diplomatic career

Honours

Bibliography

Further reading

References