Michel Struelens

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Michel Struelens
Michel Struelens, representing Congolese Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe, in 1964.
Head of the Katanga Information Services
In office
October 1, 1960 (1960-10-01)[1] – January 17, 1963 (1963-01-17)
PresidentMoïse Tshombe
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byposition abolished
Personal details
Born(1928-03-10)10 March 1928
Saint-Gilles, Belgium
Died5 October 2014(2014-10-05) (aged 86)
EducationUniversity of Antwerp, Antwerp[2]
American University (PhD)

Michel Maurice Joseph Georges Struelens (10 March 1928 – 5 October 2014) was a Belgian civil servant who represented Moïse Tshombe, President of the unrecognized State of Katanga, in the United States.

Early life and career

Struelens grew up in the Belgian Congo, where his father was a civil servant. In 1950, he was employed by the Economic Affairs Department of the Belgian Congo as inspector, and eventually as provincial director ad interim. He was sent to Brussels, Belgium, in 1957 to help prepare the World Expo Expo 58. In 1958, he became the head of the tourist office of Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, an office that he subsequently moved from Brussels to Bukavu in the Belgian Congo.[3]

Struelens married Godelieve De Wilde and had five children.[4]

Katanga Information Services

At the request of

New York Times,[6] Struelens attracted influential anti-Communists and allies of the Katangese cause, notably Senator Thomas J. Dodd.[7]
Although the State of Katanga was never recognized by any government, Struelens was allowed to stay in the United States.

When

Congressional investigation, co-chaired by Dodd and James Eastland had to determine whether the State Department abused its power in this matter.[11] Senator Kenneth Keating stated that "the actions of the State Department in reference to Struelens have been beneath our dignity as a great power and will not serve to impress either those who agree or disagree with the position of the State Department toward the Congo problem.[12] Eventually, Struelens did not get deported before the end of the Katangese secession
in January 1963.

Later life

Struelens left the United States for

government of the United States.[14]

When Tshombe's plane was hijacked and redirected to

Walter H. Judd, Katharine St. George, Karl August Wittfogel, Lammot du Pont Copeland, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.[15] Struelens travelled to several European capitals to lobby for Tshombe's release, to no avail: Tshombe died in Algiers in 1969.[16]

Struelens obtained his PhD at the Department of Political Science, International Law and Relations at the American University in 1968 with a dissertation entitled ONUC and International Politics.[17] Later, he became a professor at the School of International Service of the American University in Washington, D.C.[18] He died on 5 October 2014.[4]

Publications

  • Struelens, Michel (1976). The United Nations in the Congo, or O.N.U.C., and international politics. Brussels: Max Arnold.

References

  1. ^ Visa Procedures of Department of State: The Struelens Case. Hearings Before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary. United States, Eighty-Seventh Congress, Second Session. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1962. p. 28.
  2. ^ Visa Procedures of Department of State: The Struelens Case. Hearings Before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary. United States, Eighty-Seventh Congress, Second Session. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1962. p. 27.
  3. ^ Visa Procedures of Department of State: The Struelens Case. Hearings Before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary. United States, Eighty-Seventh Congress, Second Session. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1962. pp. 27–28.
  4. ^ a b "Michel Struelens". The Washington Post. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. ^ "SPAAK BACKS STRUELENS: Katanga Official in New York Had Belgium's Approval". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 10, 1962.
  6. New York Times
    .
  7. JSTOR 24393405
    .
  8. JSTOR 24393405
    .
  9. ^ Visa Procedures of Department of State: The Struelens Case. Report of the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary. United States, Eighty-Seventh Congress, Second Session. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. August 6, 1962. pp. 59–60.
  10. JSTOR 24393405
    .
  11. JSTOR 24393405
    .
  12. ^ Visa Procedures of Department of State: The Struelens Case. Report of the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws to the Committee on the Judiciary. United States, Eighty-Seventh Congress, Second Session. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. August 6, 1962. p. v.
  13. ^ "U.S. Raises No Objection To Struelens Appointment". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 4, 1964.
  14. New York Times
    .
  15. ^ "Congressional Record — House" (PDF). Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room. Central Intelligence Agency. 24 July 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  16. ISBN 3-8258-3940-0
    .
  17. Ann Arbor
    : University Microfilms.
  18. ^ "Michel Struelens". American University. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
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