Justice Paula-Mae Weekes (2018–2023)Lawyer, Judge, President

Early life and education

Born in Port-of-Spain on December 23, 1958, Ms Justice Paula-Mae Weekes received her early schooling at Tranquillity Government Primary School and Bishop Anstey High School. She went on to study law at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 1980. She obtained her legal education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1982 and was called to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago later that year.

Legal and Prosecutorial Practice

Justice Weekes began her legal career in 1982 in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), serving as State Counsel I and rising to Senior State Counsel. For 11 years, she represented the State across the Magistrates’, High, and Appeal Courts. In 1993, she left public service to enter private practice, initially operating from the chambers of a Senior Counsel before establishing her own chambers, specialising primarily in criminal trial and appellate advocacy.

Judicial service and

regional appellate bench

In September 1996, Weekes was appointed a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago (Criminal Jurisdiction), becoming the fifth woman appointed to the High Court bench. She presided over trial courts for nine years before her elevation in 2005 to Justice of Appeal, where she served for 11 years until her retirement from the local judiciary in 2016.

From August 1 to 11, 2012, as the most senior appellate judge, she briefly served as Acting Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago.

Following her retirement from the domestic bench, Weekes served as Executive Director of PMW Criminal Justice Consultancy. On February 1, 2017, she was sworn in to the Appellate Bench of the Judiciary of The Turks and Caicos Islands for a three-year term, becoming the first woman to hold that position.

Judicial educator and

ecclesiastical leadership

A Fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (CJEI) since 2000, Justice Weekes has designed, conceptualised, and facilitated judicial training programs locally, across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and in Jamaica. Between 2010 and 2016, she served as Course Director for Ethics, Rights, and Obligations of the Legal Profession at the Hugh Wooding Law School, where she authored the course manual, pioneered pedagogical techniques, and served as First Examiner.

In addition to her legal career, Justice Weekes served from 1997 until her presidency as Chancellor of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago, providing legal and ecclesiastical counsel on the Diocesan Council to three successive Bishops.

The presidency (2018–2023)

On January 19, 2018, the Electoral College elected Weekes as the sixth President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Sworn in on March 19, 2018, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, she made history as the nation’s first female Head of State.

Later that year, she was conferred the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT), the nation’s highest award.

Her presidency ended on March 19, 2023. During her time in office and beyond, she expanded her international engagement as the 75th member of the Council of Women World Leaders.

In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed her co-chair of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, alongside former Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.

Personal life and advocacy

A former Sunday School Superintendent, President Weekes is an advocate for youth and educational equity, serving as a member of the global Platform for Girls’ Education to secure 12 years of quality education for girls worldwide. Outside of public life, her personal interests include cultivating orchids and international travel.

https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/paula-mae-weekes