Trinidad & Tobago elects first every female head of state

The Electoral College in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday elected retired Justice Paula Mae Weeke as sthe first woman as the sixth Head of State of Trinidad and Tobago. Both Prime Minister Dr, Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar saying she was the best person suited for the position.

Weekes was the sole nominee to replace President Anthony Carmona, whose five-year term of office ends in March.

Trailblazer

Rowley said that the former Court of Appeal judge for the republic and in the Turks and Caicos Islands, had been a trail blazer and is now poised to become the first female Head of State of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

“As a young nation, we can indeed be proud of the fact that our democracy and all our governance systems are open to all our citizens. Today, for the first time, a woman is set to hold the highest office in the land,” he told the College, comprising legislators from both the House of Assembly and the Senate.

Best person for the job

He said the President-elect “is selected and celebrated only because she was deemed to be the best person for the job, measured by a variety of very exacting yardsticks.”

He reminded the citizens that while the Head of State is widely thought of as ceremonial, the job of President does in fact hold significance in the overall governance of Trinidad and Tobago.

Congratulations from Bissessar

In her congratulatory statement, Persad Bissessar, the first woman to be elected to head a government in the country, said it is the Opposition’s hope that the new head of state “will discharge her duties and responsibilities as our Head of State impartially and with compassion, striving at all times to enhance our democracy.”

Justice Mae Weekes was elected less than 48 hours after the country bade farewell to Professor George Maxwell Richards, the fourth head of state, who died earlier this month after suffering a heart attack.

Justice Weekes, was appointed to the Court of Appeal in the British Overseas Territory in September, 2016 for a term of three years.