High Commissioner to the Philippines was the title of the personal representative of the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 to the Commonwealth of the Philippines

Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...

 during the period 1935-1946. The office was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act

Tydings-McDuffie Act

The Tydings-McDuffie Act approved on March 24, 1934 was a United States federal law which provided for self-government of the Philippines and for Filipino independence after a period of ten years. It was authored by Maryland Senator Millard E...

 of 1934, which provided for a period of transition from direct American rule to the complete independence of the islands on July 4, 1946. It replaced the office of Governor-General of the Philippines

Governor-General of the Philippines

The Governor-General of the Philippines was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain and the United States, and briefly by Great Britain, from 1565 to 1935....

, who had direct executive authority. Under the Commonwealth, executive power was held by an elected Filipino President. The role of the High Commissioner was largely ceremonial.

Only three individuals held the office of High Commissioner. They were:

• Frank Murphy
  Frank Murphy
  William Francis Murphy was a politician and jurist from Michigan. He served as First Assistant U.S. District Attorney, Eastern Michigan District , Recorder's Court Judge, Detroit . Mayor of Detroit , the last Governor-General of the Philippines , U.S...
  
  , 1935–1936;
• Paul V. McNutt
  Paul V. McNutt
  Paul Vories McNutt was an American politician who served as the 34th Governor of Indiana during the Great Depression, high commissioner to the Philippines, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, chairman of the War Manpower Commission and ambassador to the Philippines.-Family and...
  
  , 1937–1939 and 1945–1946; and
• Francis B. Sayre
  Francis B. Sayre
  Francis Bowes Sayre was a professor at Harvard Law School and a son-in-law of President Woodrow Wilson.-Biography:He was born on April 30, 1885....
  
  , 1939-1942.

Murphy had previously served as Governor-General. Sayre's tenure was interrupted by the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese military occupation of the islands during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. McNutt became the first American ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to the islands after they became independent in 1946.

On January 2, 1942, as Japanese forces entered the city of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, four members of the High Commissioner's staff, Elise Flahaven, George Gray, Virginia Hewlett and Margaret Pierce, lowered the American flag

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

 that flew at the High Commissioner's headquarters, burned it and buried its ashes to prevent its capture by the Japanese. On February 22, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, again raised the flag at the High Commissioner's headquarters after recapturing Manila.

The High Commissioner's headquarters today houses the American embassy in the Philippines.

External links

• Flag of the High Commissioner of the Philippines