Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes served as President of Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2023. Paula-Mae Weekes is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago and is the 75th member of the Council of Women World Leaders.

Justice Weekes was born in 1958 and attended the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1980.

She obtained her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1982 and was admitted to the practice of law in Trinidad and Tobago later that year.

Justice Weekes worked in  the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as State Counsel  After 11 years representing the State in the Magistrates’, High and Appeal Courts, she resigned as Senior State Counsel in 1993 and entered private practice. She established her own Chambers after a brief period in the Chambers of a distinguished Senior Counsel. Justice Weekes was appointed to the judiciary in 1996. She presided in the trial courts for nine years, almost exclusively in the criminal jurisdiction. In 2005, Weekes was elevated to the Court of Appeals, where she served until her retirement.  Upon her retirement, Justice Weekes was invited to join the Appellate Bench of the Judiciary of The Turks and Caicos Islands, making her the first woman to serve in that capacity. She served in that role until she was put forward for the Presidency. 

From 1997 until her election as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Justice Weekes was the Chancellor of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago.  She was a member of the Diocesan Council and provided legal services on ecclesiastical and other matters to three successive Bishops of the Diocese.

In 2000, Justice Weekes became a Fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute. In this role, she has been involved in training for various levels of judicial officers and has conceptualized, designed and facilitated a wide range of training programs.

Immediately after retirement from the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago Justice Weekes served as Executive Director of PMW Criminal Justice Consultancy. Justice Weekes was Course Director for Ethics Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession at the Hugh Wooding Law School (2010-2016) and created the current course manual, supervised associate tutors, pioneered innovative pedagogical techniques and served as First Examiner during that period.

In 2023, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres appointed Weekes as co-chair of the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, alongside fellow Council Member Kersti Kaljulaid.