ʻAisake Valu Eke is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n politician and former Cabinet Minister. Eke studied at the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It of ...

in Australia, where he was awarded a PhD for his thesis "An exploratory study on the quality of service in the public sector in Tonga" completed in 2013. A former Secretary for Finance at the Ministry of Finance, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly at the November 2010 general election as MP for

Tongatapu 5 Tongatapu 5 is an electoral constituency for the Legislative Assembly in the Kingdom of Tonga. It was established for the November 2010 general election, when the multi-seat regional constituencies for People's Representatives were replaced by ...

. Though close to the

Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands The Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands ( to, Paati Temokalati ʻa e ʻOtu Motu ʻAngaʻofa) is a political party in Tonga. The party's leader at its foundation was 'Akilisi Pohiva. The party was launched in September 2010, and included ...

, and despite having considered running as a party member, he stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, taking the seat with 24.1% of the vote and a 63-vote margin; Tongatapu 5 was thus the only constituency on

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...

(Tonga's main island) not to be won by the party. Once elected, he told the press there was much to be done to improve

the economy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

, and said the government should facilitate private sector activity. In October 2011, he was one of several MPs to protest against Parliament voting large allowances to any of its members on sick leave overseas. Stating that MPs should not be spending more public money on themselves at a time when the economy was weak, he was one of eight MPs to vote against the increased allowances (along with ʻAkilisi Pohiva, Semisi Sika,

Sitiveni Halapua Sitiveni Halapua (13 February 1949 – 29 January 2023) was a Tongan politician and Member of the Tongan Parliament. He was a deputy leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands. Academic career Halapua had a PhD in economics from th ...

Sangster Saulala Sione Sangster Saulala (born 9 April 1974" ...

Sione Taione Percy Sione Havea Taione (born September 2, 1971), more commonly known as Sione Taione, is a Tongan politician. He belongs to the Seventh Day Adventist Church and serves as an Elder for the Malapo Church in Tonga. He attended Beulah Primary Scho ...

, Falisi Tupou and

Moʻale Finau Moʻale Finau (born February 10, 1960) is a Tongan politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. He is a member of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands. Finau has a Master of Arts degree in Geography and a Certificate in L ...

, all members of the Democratic Party). The motion was adopted by twelve votes to eight. In January 2014, Prime Minister Lord Tuʻivakano appointed him

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, following the sacking of Lisiate ‘Akolo over a disagreement concerning the budget. He subsequently kept that position in Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva's government. In March 2017, however, he abstained during a parliamentary vote on a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against the government he was part of, and was compelled to resign. He subsequently lost his seat at the 2017 election. He was re-elected in the seat of Tongatapu 5 in the 2021 election. In the aftermath of the election he was one of three candidates for Prime Minister, but was ultimately defeated by

Siaosi Sovaleni Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (born 28 February 1970) is a Tongan politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Tonga since 2021. He has previously served as a Cabinet Minister, and from 2014 to 2017, he was Deputy Prime Minister of ...

, who won the Premiership with 16 votes. In May 2022 he was absolved of bribery by the Supreme Court.

Honours

;National honours * The_Most_Illustrious_Order_of_Queen_Salote_Tupou_III_Member

Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III The ''Most Illustrious'' Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III is a knighthood order of the Kingdom of Tonga. History The Order was established on 28 June 2008 by His Late Majesty King George Tupou V to commemorate the grand figure of his grandmot ...

, Commander (31 July 2008).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eke, 'Aisake Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Living people People from Tongatapu University of Southern Queensland alumni Independent politicians in Tonga Finance Ministers of Tonga Government ministers of Tonga Year of birth missing (living people) Knight Commanders of the Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III