Ale Vena Ale (born 1951/1952) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

n politician and member of the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly (), also known as the Parliament of Samoa (), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan Parliament is composed of two parts: the O le Ao o le M ...

. He is a founding member of the

Human Rights Protection Party The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, ) is a Samoan political party. It was founded in 1979 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defeat in 2021. Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele ...

. Ale had previously served as an MP and as Public Service Commissioner. He was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 2010 Faleata West by-election. He lost his seat at the

2011 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 4 March 2011, to determine the composition of the 15th Parliament. Two parties contested the election, the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in power for most of the time since ...

. Ale unsuccessfully contested the 2016 election. Following the election, he filed an unsuccessful election petition against the winning candidate. He was re-elected in the new seat of Faleata No. 4 at the

2021 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in government for most of the time since 1982, was led into the election by Tui ...

. Following the election he was the HRPP's choice for Deputy Speaker. Following the

2021 Samoan constitutional crisis A constitutional crisis began in Samoa on 22 May 2021 when O le Ao o le Malo (Head of State) Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II issued a proclamation purporting to prevent the Legislative Assembly from meeting in the wake of the gen ...

he called for a full review of the constitution to grant greater powers to the ''

O le Ao o le Malo The Independent State of Samoa ( Samoan for "Chief of the government") is the ceremonial head of state of Samoa. The position is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution. At the time the constitution was adopted, it was anticipa ...

''. In June 2022 Ale revealed that he was unhappy with the leadership of the HRPP and wanted to become an independent. He later urged HRPP leader Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi to step down as leader. Most of Ale's constituents supported his exit from the party, with one of Ale's former campaign managers saying that he expressed dissatisfaction with the HRPP in private for a while. Ale expressed frustration towards Tuila'epa's poor responses to the HRPP's defeat in the 2021 general election to the newly formed Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party, the disappointing showing at the 2021 by-elections and the failure to win subsequent legal challenges. Ale stated, "Those are the signs, and Tuila'epa knows it, but his refusal to even entertain any advice is taking its toll on the party members". Ale has not yet been able to leave the HRPP immediately due to a law passed in early 2021, in which if a member of parliament left their respective party to become an independent, a by-election would take place in their constituency. Ale subsequently began working with his lawyer to find a path to leave the HRPP without having to compete in a by-election to retain his seat. He admitted that the HRPP passed the law due to fears that many party caucus members would defect, as deputy prime minister

Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataafa (; born 29 April 1957) is a Samoan politician and High Chief (''Faʻamatai, matai'') who has served as the seventh prime minister of Samoa, Prime Minister of Samoa since 2021. The daughter of Samoa's first Prime Mi ...

had done shortly before. He described the law as "discriminatory". HRPP members were reportedly surprised by Ale's statements, prompting Tuila'epa to hold an emergency press conference. The HRPP leader responded to Ale's comments by urging him to remember how he entered parliament when his predecessor

Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi (born April 1967) is a Samoan politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is the founder of the Tautua Samoa Party. Lealailepule was first elected to Parliament at the 2006 Samoan general election, ...

refused to retract his support for a party he was not a member of, triggering a by-election. On 3 November 2022 Ale and fellow MP Tuu'u Anasi'i Leota resigned from the HRPP to become independents, saying they did not want to remain in a party led by a leader guilty of contempt of court. Following a court challenge, their seats were declared vacant on 19 July 2023. Ale said he would run as a

FAST Fast or FAST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Fast" (Juice Wrld song), 2019 * "Fast" (Luke Bryan song), 2016 * "Fast" (Sueco song), 2019 * "Fast" (GloToven song), 2019 * ''Fast'', an album by Custom, 2002 * ''Fast'', a 2010 short fil ...

candidate in the resulting by-election. He was re-elected as a FAST candidate in the 2023 Faleata No. 4 by-election, and was sworn back into parliament on 24 October 2023. On 17 January 2025 he was fired as an associate minister by prime minister

after supporting her expulsion from the FAST party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ale, Ale Vena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Samoan civil servants Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi politicians