Michael Ala (30 March 1923 – 4 January 1985) was a Vanuatuan medical practitioner, clergyman and politician. He served as a member of the Advisory Council from 1964 to 1975.
Biography Ala was born in Saranambuga in Ambae in 1923.Pacific Islands Year Book and Who's who, Issue 9, p3 He was educated at the Melanesian Mission School at Pawa in the Solomon Islands and Queen Victoria School in Fiji. He qualified as a medical practitioner at the Central Medical School in Suva and returned to the New Hebrides to work in Port Vila as part of the British National Medical Service.Gideon A. P. Zoleveke (1980) Zoleveke: A Man from Choiseul : an Autobiography, p32 He married May Banivagahao in 1950; the couple had six children. After working at the Paton Memorial Hospital as an assistant medical practitioner, in 1954 he was posted to Ambae to set up a local clinic.Assistant Medical Practitioner Michael Ala Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1954, p65 He later became an Anglican priest.Graham Hassall (1992) Church and state in Vanuatu 1945–1980: A 'Pacific' contest for power South-Pacific Journal of Mission Studies, volume 2, number 2
In 1962 he became the first chairman of Ambae local council, a position he held for 13 years. In 1964 he was elected to the Advisory Council by Northern District Council.First Elections For New Hebrides Advisory Council Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1964, p117 He was re-elected in direct elections in 1969, representing the constituency of Ambae, Banks and Torres Islands.Wider net for New Hebrides Advisory Council Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1969, pp30–31 He was awarded an MBE in the 1971 Birthday Honours.People Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1971, p73 He contested the Ambae–Maevo constituency in the 1975 elections as an independent, but failed to be elected.Kalkot Matas Kele-Kele (1977) New Hebrides, the Road to Independence8, p78 He later joined the Vanua'aku Pati.
In 1979 he served as a member of the commission of enquiry into violence on Tanna.Tense times on Tanna Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1979, p21 He died on Ambae in January 1985 at the age of 62.Michael Ala Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1985, p65
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