Larry Zarian ( hy, Լարի Զարյան, October 20, 1937 – October 13, 2011) was an Armenian-American businessman, real estate investor, and a politician from California. Zarian is the first

Armenian-American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...

to serve on the city council in the City of

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. Zarian served 4 terms as mayor of

Early life

On October 20, 1937, Zarian was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran. Zarian's sister is Rima. Zarian attended high school in Massachusetts.

Education

Zarian attended Glendale Community College. Zarian earned a Bachelor degree in Political Science from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career

As a businessman, Zarian was the owner of Anthony's department stores and a real estate investor. In 1983, Zarian was elected as a member of city council in

. Zarian was the first Armenian-American elected in the

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

city council. In April 1986, Zarian became mayor of

. In April 1990, Zarian became the mayor of

. In April 1993, Zarian became the mayor of

. In April 1997, Zarian became the mayor of GLendale, California. Zarian succeeded Sheldon Baker. He served on the

California Transportation Commission The California Transportation Commission (CTC) is an independent government transportation commission established in 1978. The CTC replaced and assumed the responsibilities of four prior independent agencies, the California Highway Commission, ...

, and had a show on an Armenian Channel called "AMGA TV". He had a radio show in Los Angeles on KIEV.

Awards

* 1998 Recognized with plaque. Presented by Armenian Society of Los Angeles. * 2010 Leadership Award. Presented by Armenian National Committee of Glendale.

Personal life

Zarian had three sons, Gregory, Lawrence, and Vincent. On October 13, 2011, Zarian died from multiple myeloma cancer in

Glendale Adventist Medical Center Adventist Health Glendale is a hospital located in Glendale, California, it is part of the healthcare network Adventist Health. Adventist Health Glendale is one of the city's oldest businesses, founded in 1905, a year before Glendale was incorpor ...

in Glendale, California. Zarian was 73 years old.(may require subscription)

Legacy

* Glendale Transportation Center, dubbed Larry Zarian Transportation Center. Glendale Amtrak and Metrolink rail station at 400 W. Cerritos Ave,

References

External links

City of Glendale, CA : Glendale Mayors

Larry Lori's Zarian at findagrave.com

A Tribute to Mayor Zarian

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarian, Larry 1937 births 2011 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma Mayors of Glendale, California American politicians of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian politicians People from Tehran Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian people of Armenian descent 20th-century American people 21st-century American people