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P. K. van der Byl

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File:PK2.jpg
P.K. van der Byl, the hard-line Rhodesian Defence Minister - "a man calculated to give offence"

Pieter Kenyon Fleming-Voltelyn van der Byl (November 11, 1923 – November 15, 1999) was a Rhodesian politician who was a close associate of Ian Smith and one of the leading agitators for the Unilateral Declaration of Independence on November 11, 1965. He was a cabinet member from 1968 to 1979, as a member of the Rhodesian Front, and most notably served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1979. Taking a position popular with the right-wing of his party, van der Byl opposed attempts to settle with African nationalists in order to prolong the period of white rule.

Coming from a wealthy Cape family and speaking with an accent typical of the upper-class English which many listeners were convinced was affected[1], van der Byl was nevertheless regarded by Rhodesian Front members as being akin to a nineteenth century aristocrat-politician. However, his extreme views and brusque manner made him an unlikely choice for a diplomat (a Times profile in November 1976 described him as "a man calculated to give offence"[2]) and he so offended Rhodesia's closest ally South Africa that his powers had to be reduced.

Family and early life

Van der Byl was born in Cape Town, South Africa, the son of Major Piet van der Byl, a member of Jan Smuts' South African cabinet during the Second World War. Like his father, Van der Byl was educated at the Diocesan College in Rondebosch[3] but his studies were interrupted by war in 1941[4]. He served with the South African Army during the Second World War[5] and was briefly attached to the British 7th Queen's Own Hussars[6]; he saw active service in the Middle East, Italy and Austria.

After being demobilised, van der Byl studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge[7] where his aristocratic manner stood out and he was nicknamed "the Piccadilly Dutchman". He later studied at Harvard University and the University of Witwatersrand[8]. He was usually known, by friends and opponents, as "PK". 'PK' was always elegantly dressed and coiffured. He spoke in an upper class English accent that was not his native way of speaking.

Move to Rhodesia

Van der Byl came to Rhodesia in 1950 in order to manage some of his family's tobacco farming interests, hoping to make his own fortune[9]. He welcomed the move as it allowed him to indulge his hobby of big game hunting: in that year in Angola he set a world record for the biggest elephant shot, a record which stood for many years[10].

In 1957 van der Byl was made a Director of the United Dominions Corporation (Rhodesia) Ltd, having already become an active member of the Rhodesia Tobacco Association. In 1956 he was elected by the members of the Selous Gadzema district to represent them on the Tobacco Association council. He was also Deputy Chair of the Selous Farmers' Association in 1957. His first involvement in government was in 1960 when the Rhodesia Tobacco Association made him one of their representatives on the National Native Labour Commission, on which he served for two years. In 1961 he also represented the Rhodesia Tobacco Association on the council of the Rhodesian National Farmers Union[11]. He was recognised as a leading spokesman for Rhodesian tobacco farmers[12].

Dominion Party politician Winston Field had also led the Rhodesia Tobacco Association, and van der Byl agreed with him on politics in general. He joined the Rhodesian Front when it was set up under Field's leadership. At the 1962 general election, van der Byl was elected comfortably to the Rhodesia House of Assembly for the Hartley constituency, a rural area to the south-west of Salisbury[13].

Ministerial office

In 1963 Winston Field appointed van der Byl was as a junior government whip[14]. Although the van der Byl family were identified as strongly Liberal in South African politics, he became identified with the right wing of the party and helped to depose Field from the premiership in April 1964 when Field failed to persuade the United Kingdom government to grant Southern Rhodesia its independence. The new Prime Minister, Ian Smith, appointed him Deputy Minister for Information[15]. At this time, van der Byl's chief adviser was a South African called Ivor Benson, who strongly believed in an international communist conspiracy which was plotting to overthrow white rule in Rhodesia[16].

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on August 12, 1964 he attacked proposals for greater independence for broadcasters by referring to what he perceived to be the social effect in Britain:

To suggest that the BBC, forming opinion in the minds of the people of England, has been an influence for good in any way, when you consider the criminality of large areas of London; when you consider the Mods and Rockers, and all those other things; when you consider the total moral underminings which have been taking place in England, much to all our distress, in the last fifteen to twenty years, the Hon. Member can hardly bring that up as an argument in favour of the freedom of broadcasting[17].

By the end of 1964, van der Byl and his Ministry had control of broadcasting in Rhodesia[18]. Speaking in Parliament he described the aims of his Department as "not merely to disseminate information from an interesting point of view but to play its part in fighting the propaganda battle on behalf of the country". He defined propaganda as "simply the propagation of the faith and the belief in any particular ideology or thing", and also stated that the Department would seek the "resuscitation of the determination of the European to survive and fight for his rights"[19].

1965 election

In May 1965, the Rhodesian Front government went to the country in a general election, with van der Byl one of the leading campaigners. Talk of a unilateral declaration of independence was already about and van der Byl argued that only a small fraction of Rhodesian business opposed it; however, his campaign speeches typically included an argument against business involvement in politics. He cited Johannesburg mining interests' support for the Progressive Party in South Africa, big business support for the Nazi Party in Germany, and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia being financed by United States big business[20].

Despite a largely hostile press, the Rhodesian Front won a landslide victory, winning every single one of the 50 constituencies which had predominantly European voters. At the Rhodesian Front Congress of August 1965, party members strongly attacked the press for failing to support the government. A demand for it to be made compulsory for all political articles to be signed by the author met with van der Byl's approval[21].

UDI

Within the government, van der Byl was one of the loudest voices urging Ian Smith to procede to a unilateral declaration of independence. He angrily denounced the threat of sanctions from Britain, saying on May 4, 1965 that economic destruction of Rhodesia would mean total economic destruction of Zambia (the former Northern Rhodesia). This statement was interpreted as a military threat by David Butler, the Leader of the Opposition[22]. He was charged with the task of selling the UDI project both to Rhodesian whites and to world opinion. In September 1965 it was announced that he would tour the United Kingdom to promote Rhodesian independence. According to David Steel, he claimed then that France and the United States would lead the international recognition of the UDI government[23].

At the signing of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, van der Byl can just be glimpsed in a light-coloured suit at the top right of the picture.

Van der Byl was greeted by a speech strongly critical of the Rhodesian government from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, who supported the use of armed force to bring the Rhodesians in line with United Kingdom policy on decolonization. He responded by comparing the speech to "the tragic connivance at the destruction of Czechoslovakia in exchange for the useless appeasement at Munich in 1938"[24]. Van der Byl's response was also notable for the use of the phrase "kith and kin" to refer to the ethnic links between the white Rhodesians and the people of the United Kingdom. He saw no contradiction between signing a letter declaring "constant loyalty" to the Queen and declaring independence a few days later[25].

Despite his belief in propaganda, van der Byl was outraged when the BBC subsequently set up a radio station at Francistown in Botswana which broadcast for 27 months criticising UDI and urging the Rhodesians to revoke it. He was later to claim the station was inciting violence[26], although this was denied by those who had been regular listeners[27]. On January 26, 1966 after the declaration of independence, van der Byl was willing to be quoted saying that Rhodesian Army troops would follow a 'scorched earth' policy should the United Kingdom send in troops, comparing their position to that of the Red Army when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. He was highly critical of Harold Wilson, describing him as a "highly dangerous, uninformed and conceited little man"[28].

Censorship

The Rhodesia Herald of September 21, 1966 shows the effect of censorship imposed by van der Byl's ministry.

Internally, his policy was enforced through Ministry control of TV and radio and through censorship of newspapers. The Ministry had links through the government which ensured that anyone who asked awkward questions could be subject to detention or expulsion, and such action was taken against several foreign journalists (for example, John Worrall, correspondent for The Guardian, was expelled in January 1969). The Rhodesia Herald, then in opposition to both the Rhodesian Front and UDI, frequently appeared with large white spaces on its news pages where censored stories had been placed. Stories and editorials personally critical of van der Byl were immediately removed.

Censorship was tightened still further on February 8, 1966 when it was made illegal to indicate where material had been removed. The censor was also given the power to alter existing material or to move it around the newspaper. Dr Ahrn Palley, the lone white opposition MP, described the powers as "censorship gone mad", and insisted that there would no longer be any guarantee that anything published in the newspapers was authentic. Van der Byl responded by saying that the new measures were a reflection on the newspapers which had made such powers necessary[29]. In 1967 Van der Byl was reported by Malcolm Smith, the former editor of the Herald, as remarking that a high degree of self-censorship was required, and support for the government was essential[30].

The Herald (and the Bulawayo Chronicle) decided to defy the restrictions, boldly printing blank spaces which identified removed material. Van der Byl personally visited the newspaper offices on the day the new regulations came in to warn the staff that if the paper was printed as proposed, they would "publish at your peril". However the papers continued to appear with identifiable censorship in defiance of the government.

File:Vanderbylcartoon.png
* CUSTOMER: Where did you get this newspaper with all these blank spaces?
* STORE KEEPER: That's no newspaper - that's my wrapping paper!

Following the tighter censorship, van der Byl is depicted as the customer in this cartoon from March 1966.

Deportation

Shortly after UDI, 46 academics working at the University College, Rhodesia (a non-racially segregated institution) wrote to The Times in London to denounce the move. Officers of the British South Africa Police visited many of those who had signed to search their houses. Shortly afterwards, the residence permit of one of the academics came up for renewal, which would normally be automatic; in fact, it was revoked and the academic was deported. Van der Byl was the responsible minister and all but admitted that the reason was his opposition to UDI[31].

Van der Byl's strategy seemed to work at home, with many Rhodesians remaining unaware until the end just how isolated and vulnerable their country was becoming. The Times was later to describe him as a "skilled propagandist who believed his own propaganda"[32]. When sanctions on Rhodesia were confirmed in January 1967, van der Byl compared their situation with Spain following the Second World War, saying that the isolation of Spain had not stopped it from becoming one of the most go-ahead and economically successful countries in Europe. However, the reality of the situation must have been brought home to van der Byl in April 1966 when he made informal approaches to see if he might visit Britain 'for social reasons' during a tour of Europe. The Commonwealth Relations Office replied that he would not be recognised as enjoying any form of recognition or immunity[33]. Other European governments refused to recognise his passport and expelled him from the country[34].

Wider role in politics

On September 13, 1968 he was promoted to be the full Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism. Van der Byl's aristocratic background, military experience and academic credentials combined to give him an almost iconic status within the Rhodesian Front. Van der Byl's exploits as a big-game hunter (he shot his first lion in a garden in Northern Rhodesia at the age of 15[35]), a womaniser and a patron of the arts helped to reinforce his standing and many in the Rhodesian Front believed him to be "a 19th century-style connoisseur, a man of culture and an aristocrat-statesman" in the words of Michael Hartnack, a South African journalist[36]. Hartnack went on to observe "Poseurs are an incipient hazard in any unsophisticated society". Within the somewhat claustrophobic confines of white Rhodesian society outside the RF, van der Byl was achieving some degree of respect.

In politics, he assumed the position of hard-line opponent of any form of compromise with domestic opponents or the international community. He made little secret of his willingness to succeed Ian Smith as Prime Minister if Smith showed even "the least whiff of surrender", and did his best to discourage attempts to get the Rhodesians to compromise. When Bishop Abel Muzorewa had his passport withdrawn in September 1972 after returning from a successful visit to London, the government did not attempt to counter the rumour that it action was taken following van der Byl's personal order[37].

In April 1972, van der Byl insisted that Rhodesia would not implement any part of an agreement made with the United Kingdom in November 1971 unless Rhodesia's independence was acknowledged, regardless of the answer from the Pearce Commission who were then investigating whether the settlement proposals would be approved by the people of Rhodesia. When the Pearce Commission reported that the European population of Rhodesia were in support but the African population were opposed, the agreement was ditched. Many outside and inside Rhodesia had hoped that the government would implement some of the agreement even if Pearce reported against it[38].

His propaganda strategy was increasingly unsuccessful abroad, where PK alienated many of the foreign journalists and politicians that he came into contact with. His nasal, upper class drawl and aristocratic affectations were seen through in an instant by hard bitten foreign correspondents. Max Hastings, then reporting for the Evening Standard, described him as "appalling" and said that he and Smith "would have seemed ludicrous figures, had they not possessed the power of life and death over millions of people"; van der Byl had him deported[39].

His derision of working class British Labour politicians also caused problems. When in January 1966 three visiting Labour MPs were manhandled, kicked and punched while attempting to address 400 supporters of the Rhodesian Front, van der Byl blamed the three for refusing an offer from his Ministry to coordinate the visit, and pointed out that they were breaking the law which required government permission for any political meeting of more than 12 people[40].

The propaganda circulated by his Ministry (typically including references to "happy, smiling natives") was considered laughable. Visiting British journalist Peregrine Worsthorne, who knew van der Byl socially, reported seeing a copy of Mein Kampf on his coffee table[41]. While still popular with the Rhodesian Front members, he was criticised at the 1972 Party Congress for his lack of success in improving Rhodesia's image around the world; however, he retained the confidence of Ian Smith and was kept on in a government reshuffle on May 24, 1973.

That winter saw him promote a new broadcasting Bill to transfer control of the Rhodesian Broadcasting Company. Allan Savory, then the lone white opposition MP, criticised the Bill for the composition of the proposed board, which was dominated by strong supporters of the Rhodesian Front. Van der Byl insisted, somewhat unsuccessfully to foreign observers, that the government was not trying to take over broadcasting[42].

Minister of Defence

His finest hour was the two years he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence, a post he was appointed to on August 2, 1974. PK (clad in beautifully tailored battledress) would fly by helicopter to a beleaguered army outpost. Wearing dark glasses and sporting a swagger stick, PK would deliver a rousing speech for the benefit of the troops and the TV cameras - before returning to Salisbury in time for a good dinner. Many white Rhodesians (including some of its army personnel) found this sort of thing to be vastly impressive[43]. PK drew heavily on Winston Churchill for some of his inspiring speeches, as for example when he told the Rhodesian army "If the battle should wax fiercer, there can be no question of surrender. We shall contest every river, every crossroads, every village, every town and every kopje."

Rhodesia's defensive position took a blow in 1975 when the Portugese government suddenly withdrew from Mozambique which bordered Rhodesia on the east, leaving that country under the control of a Soviet-allied government which actively supported the military overthrow of both South Africa and Rhodesia's white minority governments. The ZANU forces under Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere went over to Mozambique to intensify the Bush war, and the Rhodesian Army made several cross-border raids. Mozambique President Samora Machel declared these attacks an act of war and blockaded Rhodesia from early 1976.

There were rumours in February 1976 that Soviet tanks were being unloaded in Mozambique to help in the war, and unluckily for van der Byl the British Foreign Office minister was David Ennals, one of those who had received rough treatment in 1966. Ennals announced that in the event of a racial war breaking out in Rhodesia, there would be no British help. Van der Byl responded by claiming this indicated Britain accepting Rhodesia's independence[44]. He attacked Abel Muzorewa for supporting President Machel, saying that "being a good churchman and a Bishop there is a very strong possibility he might be a communist"[45].

Following Mozambique, the Zambian government permitted guerillas to establish bases from which to attack Rhodesia in their territory in summer 1976. Van der Byl told a newspaper reporter that this had to be expected[46]. As infiltration grew, he declared at the beginning of July that the Rhodesian Army would not hesitate to bomb and destroy villages that harboured guerillas[47]. A cross-border army raid inside Mozambique in August 1976 killed at least 340 and probably between 600 and 1,000, with van der Byl insisting that the government had irrefutable proof that the raid had targeted a guerilla training camp, but that it was not willing to disclose it[48]. International opinion generally condemned the raid as a massacre.

Foreign Affairs

Van der Byl took over at a time when South Africa was putting increasing pressure on the Rhodesians to make an agreement on majority rule. In March 1975 he had to fly urgently to Cape Town to explain why the Rhodesian government had detained Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole of the Zimbabwe African National Union, who was improbably accused of plotting to murder his colleagues; the South Africans were extremely displeased with this action and suspected that the real reason was that the Rhodesians objected to Sithole and preferred to negotiate with Joshua Nkomo[49]. Van der Byl was unsuccessful in reassuring the South Africans and Ian Smith was forced to follow him.

Gradually the South Africans grew unwilling to help Rhodesia. The remaining 200 South African policemen transferred to help in the guerilla war were removed suddenly in August 1975, a move which appeared to precede even more disengagement. Van der Byl responded in a speech on August 8 which asserted that "The terrorists who are trained and equipped outside our border and who invade our country with the willing help of other governments are here for a much wider purpose than the overthrow of Rhodesia. They are here to represent a force which sees Rhodesia as just one more stepping stone to victory over South Africa because they see South Africa as a vital key to the security of America, Europe and the rest of the western world."[50]

When the Rhodesian government held talks with the African National Council on the railway bridge across the Victoria Falls in August 1975 (the train in which the talks took place was strategically in the middle of the bridge so that the ANC were in Zambia while the Rhodesians remained in Rhodesia), van der Byl was not a member of the Rhodesian delegation. This was a curious omission given his position. He did however participate in talks with Joshua Nkomo that December.

File:Pk1.JPG
"van der Byl languidly fielding questions at a press conference in his pseudo-English drawl, flashing an evil grin, his teeth discoloured by tobacco and red wine, was a memorable diversion from the stupefying dullness of Rhodesia" - Dan van der Vat

Van der Byl's habit of referring to the African population as "munts" (he asserted that "Rhodesia is able to handle the munts"[51]) led to extreme unpopularity with the South African government, and he did not attend talks with South African Prime Minister John Vorster in October 1975. This was interpreted as being connected to a personal dislike. When, on August 26 1976, the South African government announced the withdrawal of all its military helicopter crews from Rhodesia, van der Byl was outspoken in his criticism and Vorster was reported to have refused to have anything to do with "that dreadful man van der Byl"[52]. Ian Smith decided "clearly I had no option"[53] and on September 9, 1976, a sudden cabinet reshuffle deprived van der Byl of his Defence responsibilities. Smith claimed that the South African dislike of van der Byl was partly motivated by the memory of his father who had been in opposition to the National Party[54].

Contribution to diplomacy

As the prominence of the issue of Rhodesia increased in the late 1970s attention on van der Byl increased. Reporters noted his impressively quotable lines at press conferences (such as his explanation for why the Rhodesian government did not usually give the names of guerillas which it had hanged: "It's an academic question, because they are normally dead"[55]). While negotiating with the Patriotic Front put together by ZANU and ZAPU at the Rhodesia conference in November 1976 he described ZANU leader Robert Mugabe as "this bloodthirsty Marxist puppet" and the Patriotic Front proposals as "almost a parody, a music hall caricature of communist invective"[56].

At this conference, which was jointly organised by the United Kingdom and United States, van der Byl rejected the idea of an interim British presence in Rhodesia during a transition to majority rule, which was identified as one of the only ways of persuading the Patriotic Front to endorse a settlement[57]. Ultimately, on January 7, 1977 he announced the rejection of any agreement that the conference might come to[58].

Later that month, van der Byl was finding pressure put on him by more moderate voices within Rhodesia and hinted that the government might amend the Land Tenure Act which restricted the amount of land which Africans could own. He also remarked that Bishop Abel Muzorewa "can be said to represent the African in this country"[59], which indicated the direction in which the Smith government was hoping to travel: an accommodation with moderate voices within Rhodesia was likely to be a better end than a capitulation to the Patriotic Front. Van der Byl was prepared to support this strategy and did not go along with the 12 Rhodesian Front MPs who formed the Rhodesian Action Party in early 1977 claiming that the Front had not adhered to party principles.

Although van der Byl was now prepared to say that he supported the transition to majority rule, he was quick to put restrictions on it when interviewed in April 1977. He insisted that majority rule would only be possible on a "very qualified franchise - that's what the whole thing is about", and also said that any settlement must be endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the existing Legislative Assembly (which was largely elected by white Rhodesians)[60]. Over the summer of 1977 he continued to warn that insistence on capitulation to the Patriotic Front would produce a white backlash and put negotiations back[61].

However, the Rhodesian government was forced to put its internal settlement negotiations on hold during a joint US-UK initiative in late 1977. Van der Byl's public comments seemed to be aimed at ensuring this mission did not succeed, as he insisted that it had no chance of negotiating a ceasefire, described the Carter administration as "mindless", and said the joint mission as being "Anglo-American-Russian"[62]. When a plan was published, he described it as "totally outrageous" and involving "the imposition of unconditional surrender on an undefeated people who are not enemies"[63].

Internal settlement

The mission did fail and the internal settlement talks were resurrected, resulting in a deal on March 4, 1978. A transitional joint Council of Ministers was set up, with van der Byl having to work with Dr Elliott Gabellah as his co-Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Patriotic Front took no notice of this accord and the guerilla war continued; Lord Richard Cecil, a close family friend working as a photo-journalist, was killed by guerillas on April 20 1978 after van der Byl had ensured he had full access to military areas denied to other reporters[64].

In May van der Byl greeted news of massacres in Zaire as "a blessing in disguise" because they might ensure that warnings about Soviet penetration in Africa were heeded[65]. He denounced the British government the following month for refusing to recognise that a massacre of Elim missionaries was perpetrated by the Patriotic Front[66]. As the date for the full implementation of the internal settlement grew nearer, van der Byl's profile decreased. He handed over power to his African successor on June 1, 1979, and became instead Minister of Transport in the new government.

Lancaster House

When "the wheels came off the wagon" (as he put it)[67] at Lancaster House in 1979, PK greeted the event with amused detachment. He was not a member of any delegation at the conference and did not attend. The weekend after the agreement, he called on the Rhodesian Front to revitalise itself as the only true representative of Europeans in Rhodesia[68], and he ascribed the result of the conference to "a succession of perfidious British governments"[69]. On August 31, 1979 he married (for the first time) Princess Charlotte Maria Benedikta Eleonore Adelheid von und zu Liechtenstein (thirty years his junior). She is the daughter of Prince Heinrich Karl of Liechtenstein, and a niece of Otto von Habsburg. The couple had three sons: Pieter Vincenz van der Byl (born 1980), Valerian van der Byl (born 1982) and Casimir van der Byl (born July 27, 1990)[70].

According to Ian Smith's memoirs, van der Byl organised a meeting between Ian Smith and Major-General Peter Walls, Commander of the Rhodesian Army, shortly before the first Zimbabwean elections in February 1980, where they agreed a strategy to prevent Robert Mugabe winning[71]. They met again on February 26 where the consensus was that Abel Muzorewa's interim government would win enough seats, when put together with the 20 seats reserved for whites which were all Rhodesian Front, to deny Mugabe victory. However, the early election results in March dented this confidence.

Smith asked Walls for details of his plan ('Operation Quartz') [72] for using force to prevent ZANU-PF taking power (whether or not it won the election). Walls insisted that ZANU-PF would not win the election. When it did happen, both Smith and van der Byl believed that the Army should step in to prevent Mugabe taking over. Walls took the view that it was already too late, and while the others wished for some move, they were forced to concede to this view[73].

In Zimbabwe

Van der Byl remained a close associate of Smith, becoming Vice President of the 'Republican Front' (later renamed the Conservative Alliance of Zimbabwe). He inherited from his mother in 1983 a property described as 'the magnificent estate he had inherited near Caledon in the Western Cape', although retained a home in Zimbabwe and continued to be interested in politics[74]. At the 1985 general election he opposed Chris Andersen, who had broken with the Rhodesian Front to become Minister of State for the Public Service in Robert Mugabe's government, and who was standing for re-election in the whites-only constituency of Mount Pleasant. However, van der Byl lost the election heavily[75].

Van der Byl had left Rhodesia a rich man, with an attractive young wife. He enjoyed his retirement, frequently visiting London where he was a good friend of Viscount Cranborne who put him up for membership of the Turf Club[76]. The two were both members of White's Club and were often seen there when van der Byl was in town[77].

In his obituary [78], Dan van der Vat wrote "The arrival of majority rule in South Africa made no difference, and he died a very wealthy man. UDI had been a bit of a lark, to be enjoyed while it lasted and shrugged off when it failed. Despite the deaths of thousands of Africans at the hands of white Rhodesian troops and police resisting the inevitable, van der Byl, no less than Smith and their atavistic cronies, got clean away with it."

Preceded by Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism
1968-1974 		Succeeded by
Wickus de Kock
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
1974-1979 		Succeeded by
David Mukome
Preceded by Minister of Defence
1974-1976 		Succeeded by
Reginald Cowper
Preceded by
Reginald Cowper
 Minister of the Public Service
1976-1977 		Succeeded by
post abolished
Preceded by
Elly Broomberg
 Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism
1977-1979 		Succeeded by
post abolished
Preceded by
William Irvine
 Minister of Transport
1979 		Succeeded by
none (during Lord Soames' Governorship)
Ernest Kadungure from April 1980

References

  1. ^ See, e.g., Denis Hills, "Rebel People", George Allen and Unwin, 1978, p. 204: van der Byl has "a flow of mannered phrases which he delivers in a flawed Guards officer accent"
  2. ^ David Spanier, "Rhodesia's Foreign Minister a man calculated to give offence", The Times, Thursday November 4, 1976, page 7
  3. ^ Rhodesian Personalities: Pieter Kenyon Fleming-Voltelyn van der Byl
  4. ^ Dan van der Vat, "Pieter van der Byl: Rich, white aristocrat behind Rhodesia's bid to stop black rule" (obituary), The Guardian, November 30, 1999, p. 22
  5. ^ Rhodesian Personalities op cit
  6. ^ Spanier op cit
  7. ^ List of Members of Cambridge University
  8. ^ Rhodesians at war: The main players
  9. ^ Van der Vat, op cit
  10. ^ "Pieter van der Byl" (obituary), The Times, January 10, 2000, p. 19
  11. ^ "Who's Who of Southern Africa 1971", Rhodesia, Central and East Africa Section, Combined Publishers (Pty.) Ltd, Johannesburg 1971, p. 1286-154
  12. ^ Rhodesian Personalities op cit
  13. ^ Source Book of Parliamentary Elections and Referenda in Southern Rhodesia 1898-1962 ed. by F.M.G. Willson (Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury, 1963), p. 197
  14. ^ "Who's Who in Southern Africa", op cit
  15. ^ ibid
  16. ^ Robert Blake, "A History of Rhodesia", Eyre Methuen, 1977, p. 367
  17. ^ Southern Rhodesia Legislative Assembly Hansard, August 12, 1964, col. 694
  18. ^ Blake op cit
  19. ^ Southern Rhodesia Legislative Assembly Hansard, July 27, 1965, col. 1418
  20. ^ Larry W. Bowman, "Politics in Rhodesia: White Power in an African State", Harvard University Press, 1973, p. 80, citing Rhodesia Herald, April 30, 1965 and May 5, 1965
  21. ^ Rhodesia: The Road to Rebellion by James Barber (Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 283
  22. ^ "New warning by Smith on independence", The Times, Wednesday May 5, 1965, p. 9
  23. ^ David Steel, "I told you so from the start", The Times, Thursday March 6, 1980, p. 16
  24. ^ "Speech deplored by Minister", The Times, Thursday October 28, 1965, p. 12
  25. ^ "Pieter van der Byl" (obituary), The Times, op cit
  26. ^ Letter from P.K. van der Byl to The Times published on Wednesday, January 25, 1978, p. 17
  27. ^ Letter from H.C. Norwood to The Times published on Monday, February 20, 1978, p. 15
  28. ^ "'Scorched Earth' in Rhodesia if Britain sends troops", The Times, Thursday, January 27, 1966, p. 10
  29. ^ "Drastic powers for the Rhodesian Censor", The Times, Wednesday, February 9, 1966, p. 10
  30. ^ Malcolm Smith, "How censorship has affected the Rhodesian press", The Times, Tuesday, November 7, 1967, p. 11
  31. ^ Christopher Hill, "The crisis facing Rhodesia's non-racial university", The Times, Monday, August 8, 1966, p. 9
  32. ^ "Pieter van der Byl" (obituary), The Times, op cit
  33. ^ "Rebuff to a Rhodesian Minister", The Times, Tuesday, May 3, 1966, p. 1
  34. ^ Hansard, December 5, 1966, vol. 737, col. 1065
  35. ^ "Pieter van der Byl" (obituary), The Times, op cit
  36. ^ Michael Hartnack, "White seal, Black messiah", Dispatch online, Tuesday, November 6, 2001
  37. ^ "Bishop Muzorewa has his passport taken away", The Times, Monday, September 11, 1972, p. 5
  38. ^ "Tougher Rhodesian line on settlement proposals", The Times, Monday, April 10, 1972, p. 5
  39. ^ Max Hastings, "Going to the Wars", Macmillan, 2000, p. 186, 189
  40. ^ "British M.P.s manhandled by Mr. Smith's supporters", The Times, Thursday, January 13, 1966, p. 10. See also BBC News online 'On this day'.
  41. ^ Interview for Centre for Contemporary British History witness seminars
  42. ^ "Sect members accused of evading conscription", The Times, Thursday, December 6, 1973, p. 7
  43. ^ Rhodesians at War op cit
  44. ^ "Rhodesia says any Soviet interference would be 'naked aggression'", The Times, Tuesday, February 17, 1976, p. 6
  45. ^ Nicholas Ashford, "Rhodesia admits 1,000 guerillas are operating inside border", The Times, Saturday, March 6, 1976, p. 4
  46. ^ Michael Knipe, "Rebels open third front against Rhodesia", The Times, Friday, June 11, 1976, p. 7
  47. ^ Michael Knipe, "Smith Cabinet rejects plan to open white farm areas to blacks", The Times, Saturday, July 3, 1976, p. 5
  48. ^ Michael Knipe, "Rhodesians ask UN to investigate camp raid", The Times", Wednesday, August 25, 1976, p. 1
  49. ^ Michael Knipe, "Sithole arrest linked with death list", The Times, Friday, March 7, 1975, p. 8
  50. ^ "Relations under strain at Pretoria meeting", The Times, Saturday, August 9, 1975, p. 1
  51. ^ "Chilly reception awaits Rhodesian leader after television remark", The Times, Monday, October 20, 1975, p. 4
  52. ^ Rhodesian Personalities, op cit
  53. ^ The Great Betrayal: The Memoirs of Ian Douglas Smith (Blake, 1997), p. 197
  54. ^ Smith op cit
  55. ^ Spanier op cit
  56. ^ Alan McGregor, "Black majority in new Rhodesia Cabinet is sought in Geneva", The Times, Wednesday, December 1, 1976, p. 8
  57. ^ "'British presence' idea rebuffed by Mr Smith", The Times, Saturday, December 4, 1976, p. 4
  58. ^ "Rhodesia rejects all proposals", The Times, Saturday, January 8, 1977, p. 1
  59. ^ Michael Knipe, "Mr Richard warns Salisbury not to reject peace plan", The Times, Friday, January 21, 1977, p. 6
  60. ^ Michael Knipe, "Mr van der Byl demands guerrillas scale down war before Rhodesia settlement", The Times, Monday, April 25, 1977, p. 5
  61. ^ "Warning of 'white backlash'", The Times, Wednesday, June 29, 1977, p. 6
  62. ^ Nicholas Ashford, "Rhodesian doubts on Carver mission", The Times, Wednesday, November 2, 1977; p. 8
  63. ^ "Lord Carver denies he was given 'brush off' by leaders in Africa", The Times, Friday, November 11, 1977, p. 8
  64. ^ "Lord Richard Cecil" (obituary), The Times, Saturday, April 22, 1978, p. 16
  65. ^ "Kolwezi 'a blessing in disguise'", The Times, Monday, May 29, 1978, p. 5
  66. ^ Frederick Cleary, "Call from Salisbury for Owen explanation", The Times, Wednesday, June 28, 1978, p. 8
  67. ^ Rhodesian Personalities op cit
  68. ^ Nicholas Ashford, "Future looks doubtful for Smith party", The Times, Saturday, November 17, 1979, p. 5
  69. ^ David Spanier, "Ceasefire accord sought this week", The Times, Monday, November 19, 1979, p. 5
  70. ^ www.thepeerage.com, accessed March 20, 2006
  71. ^ Smith, op cit, p. 336
  72. ^ Operation Quartz - Rhodesia 1980
  73. ^ Smith, op cit, p. 343
  74. ^ Jan Raath, "Time stands still for Smith as whites face up to reality", The Times, Thursday, June 27, 1985, p. 5
  75. ^ Jan Raath, "Smith wins battle in Bulawayo", The Times, Friday, June 28, 1985, p. 5
  76. ^ Paul Vallely and John Rentoul, "A Lordly plot to save their place", The Independent, December 4, 1996, p. 16
  77. ^ "Pinochet revisited", Evening Standard, January 18, 1999, p. 13
  78. ^ Van der Vat, op cit
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