Michael P. E. Hoyt

Michael P. E. Hoyt served In the U. S. Foreign Service for twenty-five years, heading four diplomatic and consular posts. For his courage during the 1964 hostage situation as consul in Stanleyville, the Congo, he was awarded the U. S. Department of State's highest honor--the Secretary's Award. His assignments took him to posts in Pakistan, Switzerland, and Africa. In Washington, D.C., he served as desk officer for Southern Rhodesia, Zambia, and Malawi, and then for UN specialized agencies dealing with transportation. In his assignment as DCM the Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, he was charge d'affairs during the 1972 genocide against the Hutu and reported exensively on the events. His last assignment was as counselor of the U. S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva to promote human rights. He retired from government service in 1980 and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he consults, writes, and lectures on international affairs and teaches college-level African history courses.

Hoyt received undergraduate degrees from the University of Chicago and his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana, completing further graduate studies in economics and African studies at Northwestern University. During the Korean War, he served the U.S. Air Force as an air traffic controller.