Editing Irene Sáez

{{Short description|Venezuelan politician and former Miss Universe}}
{{family name hatnote|Sáez|Conde|lang=Spanish}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Irene Sáez portrait in 1997 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Irene Sáez ''circa'' 1997 
| birth_place= {{nowrap|[[Chacao Municipality|Chacao]], [[Miranda (state)|Miranda]], Venezuela<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noticierodigital.com/2017/12/mario-valdez-irene-saez-la-reina-vuelve-a-chacao/|title=Irene Sáez: "La Reina, vuelve a Chacao"}}</ref>}}
| birth_name= Irene Lailin Sáez Conde
| birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1961|12|13}}    
|children = 1
|office1 = [[Governor of Nueva Esparta]]
|term_start1 = 1999
|term_end1 = 2000
|office2 = Mayor of [[Chacao Municipality, Miranda|Chacao]]
|term_start2 = 1993
|term_end2 = 1998
|module = {{Infobox pageant titleholder | child=yes
| title={{ubl|Miss Confraternidad Sudamericana 1981|[[Miss Venezuela 1981]]|[[Miss Universe 1981]]}}
| competitions= {{ubl|[[Miss Venezuela 1981]]|(Winner)|[[Miss Universe 1981]]|(Winner)}}
| caption= 
| image_size=
| height=  
| eye_color= [[Brown eyes|Light Brown]]
| hair_color= [[Blonde]]
}}}}
'''Irene Lailin Sáez Conde''' (born 13 December 1961) is a Venezuelan politician and [[beauty queen]] who was crowned [[Miss Universe 1981]]. She has been a [[model (person)|model]], was the mayor of [[Chacao, Venezuela|Chacao]] (a municipality of [[Caracas]]), [[governor of Nueva Esparta|governor of the state of Nueva Esparta]] and a [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|presidential candidate in 1998]].

==Early life and education==
Irene Sáez was born and spent her childhood in [[Chacao Municipality|Chacao]], Miranda, [[Venezuela]]. Her father, Carlos Sáez, and her mother, Ligia Conde, died when Irene was three years old.<ref name="LAT">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-11-mn-34693-story.html|title=Miss Universe-Turned-Politician Wows Voters|last=Jones|first=Bart|date=Feb 11, 1996|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=Oct 22, 2018}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2022}}

==Career==
===1981–1989: Pageant wins and early political roles ===
Early in her career, Sáez was named the Queen of Club Campestre Los Cortijos for three years in a row.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} Sáez was crowned [[Miss Venezuela 1981]] and later, crowned [[Miss Universe 1981]] at the 30th annual pageant in [[New York City]] at the age of 19.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8vMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5862,5134717|title=Miss Venezuela Chosen World's Most Beautiful|date=Jul 21, 1981|work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|access-date=Oct 22, 2018|page=3A|via=Google News}}</ref> After spending a year traveling the world as Miss Universe, Sáez studied political science at the [[Central University of Venezuela]], and then served a year as Venezuela's cultural representative to the [[United Nations]], expanding the international contacts developed into the realm of culture and diplomacy.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

===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}}

===1998: Presidential campaign===
{{See also|1998 Venezuelan presidential election}}
{{cleanup|section|date=November 2016|reason=the section needs inline sourcing for controversial statements and the removal of unsourced editorializing.}}
Sáez kept her distance from mainstream parties for as long as she could, and in 1997 formed the Integrated Representation of New Hope (IRENE) Party as a launch pad for her eventual run in the [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|December 1998 presidential elections]]. In the final poll of the year in December 1997 she reached almost 70% support – just one year prior to the presidential elections.<ref name=McCoy>{{Cite book|title=The unraveling of representative democracy in Venezuela|last=McCoy|first=Jennifer|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=0801884284|editor-last=Myers|editor-first=David J.|editor-mask=McCoy, Jennifer, Myers, David J. (eds.)|location=Baltimore|language=en|chapter=From Representative to Participatory Democracy?|oclc=225220185}}</ref>

Despite spending millions of dollars on publicity, Sáez fell below 15% within six months, as the public became increasingly skeptical of her readiness for the presidency and she lost credibility as an anti-establishment candidate after accepting the endorsement of [[COPEI]], an invitation analysts now see as a political trap for a candidate ahead of her times.<ref name=McCoy/>

Sáez won the internal COPEI primary election with 62.7% of the vote, against [[Eduardo Fernández (Venezuelan politician)|Eduardo Fernández]]'s 35.7%, at a convention with 1,555 COPEI delegates taking place at a Caracas hotel, an endorsement earned after [[COPEI]] realized their original male candidate was unable to win. Its leaders ascertained their best bet to remain competitive nationally was to replace him with the charismatic yet independent Irene Sáez, transforming her into the first independent and female candidate supported by a major political party for the presidency of Venezuela.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

Sáez was credited with bringing to national politics the voice of Venezuelans disenchanted with politics as usual, wrapped in the familiar sophistication of a global beauty queen with ties to the elite class. Because of her physical attractiveness and ability to speak, public newspapers like ''El Nacional'' described her television appearances as "Reaganesque". To make herself more politically familiar, Sáez adopted Argentina's [[Eva Perón]]'s hair style and fiery language of social revolution. Her speech preceded [[Hugo Chávez]]'s, as she was a presidential candidate for years before him. Sáez ran on a platform of ending corruption, reducing bureaucracy and refinancing public debt. Her campaign slogan was "a revolution is possible".{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

COPEI's former president, [[Rafael Caldera]], pardoned Chávez for the attempted coup against Pérez, from the opposing [[Democratic Action (Venezuela)|Democratic Action]] party, making possible his eventual ascendance to power.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

Ultimately she finished a distant third with 2.82% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cne.gob.ve/web/documentos/estadisticas/e006.pdf|title=Elecciones Presidenciales Cuadro Comparativo 1958-2000|publisher=[[National Electoral Council (Venezuela)|CNE]]}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=August 2022}}

===1999–2000: Governor of Nueva Esparta and boards===
Soon after the 1998 presidential election, Sáez was elected governor of the state of [[Nueva Esparta]], in an election made necessary by the January 1999 death in office of [[Rafael Tovar (governor)|Rafael Tovar]]. She won with more than 70% of the votes, defeating the Democratic Action candidate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Valdez|first=Mario|date=1 Dec 2017|title=Irene Sáez: 'La Reina, vuelve a Chacao'|url=http://www.noticierodigital.com/2017/12/mario-valdez-irene-saez-la-reina-vuelve-a-chacao/|journal=Noticiero Digital|language=es}}</ref> She served as governor of the state until 2000, stepping down when she became pregnant, denying rumors that she was pushed aside by Chávez.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Since 2003, Sáez has lived in [[Miami]], United States, where she was named to the [[board of directors]] of the [[Colonial BancGroup]], south Florida region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colonialbank.com/annualreports/2003annual/pages/5officers/6regionaldirectors.html|title=Colonial Bank Group 2003 Annual Report|date=2003|via=Wayback Machine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222144817/http://www.colonialbank.com/annualreports/2003annual/pages/5officers/6regionaldirectors.html|archive-date=2008-02-22|url-status=dead|access-date=2008-04-25}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=August 2022}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Venezuela}}
*[[List of Venezuela governors]]
*[[List of Miss Universe titleholders]]
*[[List of Miss Universe runners-up and finalists]]
*[[List of Miss Venezuela contestants]]
*[[List of Miss Venezuela titleholders]]
*[[List of Venezuelans]]
*[[List of Venezuelan Americans]]
*[[Leni Robredo]]{{why?|date=March 2025}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/Lasa2001/HinojosaMagdaBelen.pdf#search='irene%20saez%20led%20the%20polls' Analysis of the political career of Irene Sáez].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080829004620/http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_42/c3651172.htm Sáez as Governor (Margarita Island) – BusinessWeek Online, Oct. 18, 1999 issue ]

;Video
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAEOP8oR6cE YouTube: Final Miss Venezuela 1981]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a4RVFQgWnY YouTube: Miss Universe 1981 Coronation]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{s-bef|before={{flagicon|USA}} [[Shawn Weatherly]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Miss Universe]]|years=[[Miss Universe 1981|1981]]}}
{{s-aft|after={{flagicon|CAN}} [[Karen Dianne Baldwin|Karen Baldwin]]}}
{{s-new|first}}
{{s-ttl|title=Miss Confraternidad Sudamericana | years = 1981}}
{{s-vac|next={{flagicon|VEN|1930}} [[Paola Ruggeri]] (1983)|as =Miss Sudamérica}}
{{succession box
| before = Maye Brandt
| title  = [[Miss Venezuela]]
| years  = [[Miss Venezuela 1981|1981]]
| after  = Ana Teresa Oropeza
}}
{{succession box
| before = Alida Bello
| title  = [[Miranda (state)|Miss Miranda]]
| years  = 1981
| after  = Lily Protovin
}}
{{s-end}}

{{portal bar|Lists}}
{{Miss Universe 1981 delegates}}
{{Miss Universe titleholders}}
{{Miss Universe Organization titleholders
|Year = 1981
|Miss Universe= {{flagicon|Venezuela}} '''Irene Sáez'''
|Miss USA= {{flagicon|Ohio}} [[Kim Seelbrede]]
}}
{{Big Four Pageants titleholders
|Year = 1981
|Miss World={{flagicon|Venezuela}} [[Pilín León]]
|Miss Universe={{flagicon|Venezuela}} '''Irene Sáez'''
|Miss International={{flagicon|Australia}} [[Jenny Derek]]
}}
{{Miss Venezuela winners in the Big Four pageants}}
{{Venezuela at Miss Universe|state=collapsed}}
{{Miss Universe Venezuela titleholders|state=collapsed}}
{{Miss Venezuela titleholders|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saez, Irene}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Central University of Venezuela alumni]]
[[Category:Governors of Nueva Esparta]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Miss Universe 1981 contestants]]
[[Category:Miss Universe winners]]
[[Category:Miss Venezuela winners]]
[[Category:People from Caracas]]
[[Category:Venezuelan beauty pageant winners]]
[[Category:Women mayors of places in Venezuela]]
[[Category:20th-century Venezuelan women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Venezuelan politicians]]
[[Category:Universidad Metropolitana alumni]]
[[Category:Women state governors of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Beauty queen-politicians]]
[[Category:Candidates for President of Venezuela]]