Editing Irene Sáez (section)

===1990–1997: Mayor of Chacao===
In the early 1990s, Sáez turned to electoral politics and a week after the [[1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts|November 1992 coup attempt]], led by [[Hugo Chávez]], she was elected mayor of [[Chacao Municipality]],{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} in [[Caracas]]. Unbeknownst to Sáez at the time, her political future would continue to be tied to Chávez's rise in the country. In office as mayor of [[Chacao Municipality]], Sáez tackled Chacao's high crime rate by professionalising the municipal police force, with university graduates as officers, higher pay, new police vehicles, and a variety of mobility devices (including roller skates and mountain bikes) allowing the police to move around more quickly. Crime fell dramatically as a result of her innovative ideas. Without political experience or an established party machine, Sáez was content to delegate to experts, and "hired top-notch administrators and listened to their advice about everything from setting the budget to running public services".{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In December 1995, Sáez was reelected as mayor of Chacao with 96% of the vote, the highest share of the vote in Venezuela's democratic history.<ref name="LAT"/> ''[[The Times]]'' of London ranked her 83rd in its list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

In 1997, she was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award at the [[Miss Universe Pageant]], a recently created prize of the Miss Universe Organization. She made her acceptance speech in both English and Spanish. Sáez was received at [[Simón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela)|Simón Bolívar International Airport]] by former president of Venezuela [[Luis Herrera Campins]], who gave her a gold chain for her victory in Miss Universe.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}