Đuro Salaj (1889 – 20 May 1958) was one of the founders of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...

and the first president of the United Labour Unions of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Salaj was born in

Valpovo Valpovo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is close to the Drava river, northwest of Osijek. As of 2021, the population of Valpovo is 7,406, with a total of 11,563 in the municipality. Name In Hungarian the town is known as ''Valpó'' and in ...

and received secondary education as a tailor. In 1907 he travelled to Austria, Germany and Switzerland looking for work, and became a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

and a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

activist. In 1909 he moved to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

and became a local sewing trade union representative. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he moved to

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (, ), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod is the 7th lar ...

where he became further involved in politics, and led the local branch of the Social Democratic Party to become the Communist Party. Between 1930 and 1944, he was the representative of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia with the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

, stationed in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In 1945, he attended the

World Trade Union Conference The World Trade Union Conference was a conference that was held between 6–17 February 1945. The conference was participated by countries from all around the world, at the County Hall, London. Regarded as a significant moment within the internat ...

in London alongside many renowned trade unionists. In

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, he was decorated with the

Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour ( / , , ) was the fourth highest state decoration awarded in Yugoslavia.Tomb of the People's Heroes, Zagreb The Tomb of the People's Heroes () is located in Zagreb's central graveyard, Mirogoj. It was designed by the Croatian sculptor Đuro Kavurić and built in 1968. Buried in the tomb are not only the recipients of the Order of the People's Hero, b ...

Sources