P. K. van der Byl

The Honourable Pieter Kenyon van der Byl GLM ID
The Hon. P. K. van der Byl
Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism
In office 1968–1974
President	Clifford Dupont
Prime Minister	Ian Smith
Preceded by	Jack Howman
Succeeded by	Wickus de Kock
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 1974–1979
President	Clifford Dupont John Wrathall Henry Everard Jack William Pithey
Prime Minister	Ian Smith
Preceded by	Jack Howman
Succeeded by	David Mukome
Minister of Defence
In office 1974–1976
President	Clifford Dupont Henry Everard John Wrathall
Prime Minister	Ian Smith
Preceded by	Jack Howman
Succeeded by	Reginald Cowper
Minister of the Public Service
In office 1976–1978
President	John Wrathall
Prime Minister	Ian Smith
Preceded by	Reginald Cowper
Succeeded by	Hilary Squires
Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism
In office 1977–1979
President	John Wrathall Henry Everard Jack William Pithey
Prime Minister	Ian Smith
Preceded by	Elly Broomberg
Succeeded by	Silas Mundawarara
Minister of Transport and Power
In office 1979–1979
President	Jack William Pithey Henry Everard
Prime Minister	Abel Muzorewa
Preceded by	William Irvine
Succeeded by	Ernest Kadungure (from 1980)
Minister of Posts
In office 1979–1979
President	Jack William Pithey Henry Everard
Prime Minister	Abel Muzorewa
Preceded by	James Chikerema William Irvine
Succeeded by	George Silundika (from 1980)
Personal details
Born	(1923-11-11)11 November 1923 Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Died	15 November 1999(1999-11-15) (aged 76) Caledon, Western Cape, South Africa
Political party	Rhodesian Front
Spouse(s)	Princess Charlotte of Liechtenstein
Children	3
Parents	Pieter Voltelyn Graham van der Byl Joyce Clare Fleming
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pieter Kenyon Fleming-Voltelyn van der Byl, GLM ID (11 November 1923 – 15 November 1999) was a Rhodesian politician who served as his country's Foreign Minister from 1974 to 1979 as a member of the Rhodesian Front (RF). A close associate of Prime Minister Ian Smith, Van der Byl opposed attempts to compromise with the British government and domestic black nationalist opposition on the issue of majority rule throughout most his time in government. However, in the late 1970s he supported the moves which led to majority rule and internationally recognised independence for Zimbabwe.

Van der Byl was born and raised in Cape Town, the son of the South African politician P V van der Byl, and served in the Middle East and Europe during the Second World War. After a high-flying international education, he moved the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1950 to manage family farms. He went into politics in the early 1960s through his involvement with farming trade bodies, and became a government minister responsible for propaganda. One of the leading agitators for Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, Van der Byl was afterwards responsible for introducing press censorship. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to persuade international opinion to recognise Rhodesia, but was popular among members of his own party.

Promoted to the cabinet in 1968, Van der Byl became a spokesman for the Rhodesian government and crafted a public image as a die-hard supporter of continued white minority rule. In 1974 he was made Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence at a time when Rhodesia's only remaining ally, South Africa, was supplying military aid. His extreme views and brusque manner made him a surprising choice for a diplomat (a November 1976 profile in The Times described him as "a man calculated to give offence"). After offending the South African government, Van der Byl was removed from the Defence Ministry.