High Commissioner to the Philippines.

About High Commissioner to the Philippines

The high commissioner to the Philippines was the personal representative of the president of the United States to the Commonwealth of the Philippines during the period 1935–1946. The office was created by the Tydings–McDuffie Act 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, who had direct executive authority. Under the commonwealth, executive power was held by an elected Filipino president. The executive power of the high commissioner was largely ceremonial, and its office is similar to that of an ambassador.