Career
Born in Oxfordshire, England in 1939, Philipsen moved to Canada with his family in 1940. In adulthood he trained as an electrician, and moved to Yukon in 1962, where he worked for various electrical contractors and transportation companies. He was first elected to the legislature in the 1982 territorial election.
He served in the Executive Council of Yukon as Minister of Health and Human Resources and Government Services, Minister of Justice and Minister of Community and Transportation Services.
He was reelected to the legislature in the 1985 election on May 13, 1985, but died in a vehicle accident on the Dempster Highway on September 13. He was succeeded in a by-election in February 1986 by Alan Nordling.
