Eleasalo Va'alele "Salo" Ale is an

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

n attorney serving as the 10th

lieutenant governor of American Samoa The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor and ...

. He previously served as

Attorney General of American Samoa The Attorney General of American Samoa is the chief law enforcement officer and chief legal advisor to the American Samoa Government. The Attorney General of American Samoa aims to serve, protect, and represent the government and the people by enfo ...

from 2014 to 2020. On January 13, 2020, Ale resigned as attorney general to pursue politics.

Early life and education

Ale was born in

and attended Marist Brothers High School. He left

to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the Drake University Law School in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Career

After earning his undergraduate degree, Ale worked as a legislative assistant to then-U.S. Senator

Daniel Inouye Daniel Ken Inouye ( ; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. representative f ...

. After law school, he served as a clerk for Judge James Burns on the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals. For 17 years, Ale worked as an attorney at Faegre Baker Daniels in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. Ale was nominated to serve as the 10th

in 2014 by then-Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga. As Attorney General, he and a bipartisan group of attorneys general supported the 2019 extension of the Autism CARES Act of 2014. He joined another bipartisan group of attorneys general supporting the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017. He resigned from his position in 2020, citing an interest in seeking another elective office. Ale and Mauga placed first in the November general election. Ale assumed office as Lieutenant Governor on January 3, 2021. Ale serves as the chair of the task force countering the COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ale, Eleasalo 21st-century American politicians American Samoa Democrats American Samoan Attorneys General American Samoan politicians Lieutenant Governors of American Samoa Living people Truman State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Drake University Law School alumni