Hayk Hrachyayi Marutyan ( hy, Հայկ Հրաչյայի Մարության; born December 18, 1976) is an Armenian actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and politician. He was the

mayor of Yerevan The Mayor of Yerevan () is head of the executive branch of Yerevan's government. The mayor is elected by the Yerevan City Council. Recent city council elections took place in 2018, 2017 and 2013. List of mayors References External links ...

from October 2018 to December 2021. Marutyan rose to prominence as half of the

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

" Hayko Mko" (with Mkrtich "Mko" Arzumanyan) in the 2000s. They co-produced '' Kargin Haghordum'' (2002–09) and '' Kargin Serial'' (2010-13). Due to these, he is widely known as Kargin Hayko ( hy, Կարգին Հայկո) to the Armenian public. He later starred in several comedy films, including '' Super Mother'' and '' Love Odd''. Marutyan became actively involved in civic activism during the presidency of

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

. During the 2018 revolution he actively supported

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan ( hy, Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, ; born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

. He joined Pashinyan's Civil Contract party and was nominated as their candidate for mayor of Yerevan. He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

mayor in a landslide victory by garnering some 81% of the votes. Marutyan became the first mayor of Yerevan to be removed by a vote of no confidence by the

Yerevan City Council The Yerevan City Council () is the lawmaking body of the city of Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia. It has 65 members elected by Party-list proportional representation system, headed by the Mayor of Yerevan. The Council serves as a ...

in December 2021 amid political disagreements with the ruling government and Civil Contract party, which he left in December 2020.

Life

Marutyan was born in Yerevan on December 18, 1976. He graduated from Anania Shirakatsy Lyceum and then continued his education at the Yerevan Polytechnic, graduating in 1997. He later served his mandatory military conscription at a special unit of the National Security Service until 1998. Marutyan is married to Iva, a Czech national whom he met in 2004. They have 4 children (2 daughters and 2 sons).

Career

From the mid-1990s, Marutyan worked as a screenwriter, director, and an actor. In 2002, he founded Kargin Studio, producing the TV series '' Kargin Haghordum'' (2002–09) and '' Kargin Serial'' (2010-13). He starred with

Mkrtich Arzumanyan Mkrtich Arzumanyan ( hy, Մկրտիչ Արզումանյան; born August 10, 1976), better known as Mko ( hy, Մկո) is an Armenian actor, humorist, showman, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in Gyumri (formerly Leninakan). He is known fro ...

(Mko).

Political career

Activism

Marutyan participated in social and political movements from the early 2010s. In 2011 he supported the

Mashtots Park Movement Mashtots Park Movement ( hy, Մաշտոցի պուրակի շարժում), also known as #SaveMashtotsPark and OccupyMashtots began as a sit-in on February 11, 2012 in Mashtots Park, Yerevan. The protest was initiated by "This City Belongs to U ...

. In July 2013, he was among celebrities which participated in the public transportation fare increase protests. In April and May 2018 Marutyan supported opposition leader

during the 2018 revolution. Marutyan hraparak

Mayor of Yerevan

;Election On July 30, 2018, Marutyan was named by Civil Contract as their candidate for mayor of Yerevan after the resignation of Republican

Taron Margaryan Taron Andraniki Margaryan ( arm, Տարոն Անդրանիկի Մարգարյան, born 17 April 1978, Yerevan) is a politician from Armenia. He was the 11th mayor of Yerevan from 2011 to 2018. Head of community and early career From 2001 to 2 ...

. He was

the

on September 23, 2018. It was widely seen as, primarily, an electoral test for the post-revolutionary Pashinyan government. The alliance which Marutyan led was called My Step, a reference to the revolution. Apart from Pashinyan's Civil Contract, it included civil society members sympathetic to the revolution. ;Waste management Marutyan first year in office was marked with a trash collection problem and a war of words with Sanitek, a Lebanese company responsible for the city's trash collection. It culminated in Marutyan unilaterally terminated all contracts with the company in October 2019 after fining it several times. The company had effectively stopped operating in August 2019. In July 2019 Armenia's State Revenue Committee opened a criminal investigation against Sanitek. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced in September 2019 that Sanitek and former city authorities had caused financial damage to Yerevan in the amount of AMD 5.3 billion ($11.1 million). Sanitek, in turn, alleged to be under "aggressive administrative pressure." In April 2019, the Yerevan municipality set up a public-run agency to gradually replace Sanitek, which effectively occurred in September 2019. ;Green spaces Marutyan vowed to add more green spaces in Yerevan, including removing illegally built properties on formerly green spaces. In March 2019 two cafes near the Opera Theater were demolished to make way for a lawn and trees. ;Transportation Marutyan had vowed to replace Yerevan's public transportation system with a new one within two to four years. According to the reform plan, all

marshrutka ''Marshrutka''trolley buses.

Filmography

Marutyan starred in more than 10

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

. He worked for Sharm company from 1996 to 2002 as a scriptwriter, director. As an actor, he played in ''220 Volt'' (1996), ''Valyur'' (1996), ''Our Yard'' (1996), ''Our Yard 2'' (1998), ''Tuyn Kaset'' (2000), ''Urish Kaset'' (2000), ''Banda'' (2000), and ''Komertsion Nerkayatsum'' (2001).Hayk Marutyan profile
, imdb.com; accessed 22 November 2017. His most popular films are Super Mother and its sequel Super Mother 2, where he plays a woman, Karine Barseghyan.

Roles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marutyan, Hayk 1976 births Living people Armenian male film actors 20th-century Armenian male actors 21st-century Armenian male actors Armenian male stage actors Mayors of Yerevan 21st-century Armenian politicians