He earned a master's degree in development and administration from the Crawford School of Economics and Government at Australian National University.

[1] Philip had been accused of misusing and misappropriating a $10 million national development fund, which had been allocated to Solomon Islands from the government of Taiwan.

"[1] Prime Minister Danny Philip resigned on 11 November 2011, ahead of a vote of no confidence stemming from the allegations of the misuse of Taiwanese funds.

[1][8] On 16 November 2011, Lilo was elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, winning a majority of the 29 of the 49 eligible members of Parliament and defeating three other rivals for the office.

[19] France denounced Solomon Islands-introduced motion as "blatant interference [and] a complete absence of respect for the democratic choice of [French] Polynesians", who had just elected a government hostile to the prospect of independence.

[21] He stayed active in politics, leading his party and winning back his seat in the 2024 Solomon Islands general election.