Author: Živko Topalović

Having graduated from Užice high school in 1904, Živko Topalović became a union instructor and the secretary of the Union of textile workers of Serbia at age 18. He studied in Belgrade, where he attained a Ph D in criminal law.In the period of 1910-12, he undertook specialisation in Paris and Berlin, but his studies were cut short due to the outbreak of the Balkan Wars. He participated in the battles of Kumanovo and Bregalnica as a reserve officer. After the wars he continued his specialisation.After the outbreak of the First World War, he participated in the battles of Cer and Kolubara and was one of the combatants who buried the founder of socialism in Serbia, Dimitrije Tucović, on Vrače Brdo after he fell in battle.As a sub-lieutenant he was heavily wounded and captured close to Belgrade in 1914. In 1917, he was included in an exchange of wounded POW officers between Serbia and Austria-Hungary.After this he was active in creating Yugoslavia, with active agitation among the Catholic population of Boka Kotorska and Dalmatia for a unified state. He brought he Croatian delegation to Belgrade for the declaration of the unified state on 1st December 1918.