George Phillippo was born in
1833 in St. Catherine,
Jamaica -- a small Spanish Town. Phillippo is most known for being the third Attorney-General
of
British Columbia. He was educated in England where he trained as a barrister. In
1862, he was called to the Bar but he decided not to practice in England and rather returned
to
Jamaica. Although Phillippo practiced law in
Jamaica, he did later join the British Government, taking different positions in different
parts of the world. In
1870, Phillippo was appointed Attorney-General of
British Columbia, succeeding
Henry Crease. In his position, Phillippo represented the crown in the courts, organized the justice
system and worked as a legal advisor. He would officially swear into his position on
19 May 1870.
On
22 December 1870,
Musgrave appointed Phillippo as a member of the Executive Council. After just one year as Attorney-General, on
3 June 1871, Phillippo accepted the commission to become Puisne Judge in British Guinea, thus
resigning from his current position in
British Columbia. Throughout his legal career, Phillippo served in various countries throughout the
world. After his resignation as Puisne Judge in British Guinea in
1872, he became the Puisne Judge of the Straits Settlements, then Chief Justice of
Gibraltar in the late
1870s, and eventually the Chief Justice of
Hong Kong from
1882-1888. Phillippo was knighted in
1882. He retired from the Colonial Service on
5 October 1888. After his retirement, he was appointed as the British high consul at Geneva in
1897, which he held until
1910. Phillippo lived the rest of his life out of the public arena, dying on
16 February 1914 in Geneva.