Sir Ernest Albert Vasey settled in Kenya in 1936. Although he never attended secondary school nor university, his abilities were widely recognised and he held numerous elected offices and civil posts. In 1938, he was elected to represent Nairobi Westland Ward and he remained a Member of the Nairobi Municipal Council until 1950. He was Mayor of Nairobi from 1941 to 1942 and from 1944 to 1946. He entered the Legislative Council, representing the Nairobi North Constituency in 1945, and he served as Chairman of the European Elected Members Organisation.

He began his decade as an official member of the Kenya Government in 1950 as Member for Health and Local Government. He was Member for Education, Health, and Local Government between 1951 and 1952 and was Minister for Finance and Development from 1952 to 1959. In 1960, he was invited to Tanganyika (Tanzania), where he served as Finance Minister until 1962. He was a Financial and Economic Adviser to the World Bank from 1962 to 1966.