BIOGRAPHY

Niko Dragoš was born in the settlement of Griblje, Municipality of Črnomelj, Slovenia (then Austria-Hungary), on 27 August 1907. In his youth, he worked on a farm and took on various carpentry jobs, saving enough money to buy his first hat and tie.

At 20, he served for a year and a half in the army with the mountain artillery unit in Mostar (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). Upon returning home, he secretly applied for a border guard position through a newspaper advertisement, not daring to share his plan with his family. He was assigned to a patrol on Midžor, the highest mountain in Serbia at 2,168 meters. The region was also claimed by Bulgaria, leading to frequent illegal crossings by smugglers and rebel groups.

Although he already knew Cyrillic, he perfected his skills while stationed there. Later, after being transferred to Knjaževac, he followed the advice of two friends. First, he enrolled in a correspondence school in Sarajevo; second, he invested his savings in bonds and entrusted the rest to the Postal Savings Bank. His enrollment at Vidović’s Gymnasium proved worthwhile, but the bonds became worthless during World War II—along with the money he had deposited in the bank. In 1939, he competed in the Yugoslav Border Guard skiing competition in Mojstrana, where his team secured second place.

During World War II, he was captured by the Germans and sent to the Krems camp, where he was registered as prisoner number 72,403. The prisoners were subjected to harsh labor, including work in Kleinmünchen on the construction of the massive Göring Werke factory complex. After the German army’s defeat at Stalingrad, the prisoners were reassigned to work on farms.

When news of the war’s end reached him, Niko left the farm and headed for the city. At the train stations, crowds of people were desperate to return home, but the trains weren’t running due to damaged tracks—only a few trucks were available. In early July, Niko managed to secure a spot on one, barely making it to Linz. From there, he caught another ride to the Danube, where he had to wait once again. Eventually, he boarded a train to Budapest, then another to Subotica, Serbia. Upon arriving in Bobnarci, he continued his journey on foot, finally reaching his hometown of Griblje on his 38th birthday in 1945.

When he went to the National Protection Administration in Črnomelj to report his return, the employee promptly offered him a position in the National Protection, which later became the militia. He was assigned to Adlešiči and appointed as the station commander. After four months, he was transferred to Semič, where he took on the role of station commander.

In 1947, he married Pepca, but they were unable to marry in a church at the time. Many years later, when he was 90 years old, they were married in Ljubljana Cathedral by the Archbishop of Ljubljana, Alojz Uran. After the experience of not being married in a church, Niko initially planned to leave the service. However, after some reflection, he decided to stay. He retired from his office job in June 1967. The couple had a son, Ivo, and a daughter, Cvetka. After his wife’s death, Niko continued to live independently until the age of 101. At the urging of his loved ones, he then moved to a nursing home in Poljane, Ljubljana.

Niko Dragoš passed away in Ljubljana, on 31 March 2018, at the age of 110 years, 216 days.

RECOGNITION

Following his death, 108-year-old Matilda Serec (22 October 1909 – 7 March 2019) became the oldest known living person in Slovenia, while 105-year-old Rafael Merkelj became the oldest known living man in the country.

In August 2017, he celebrated his 110th birthday, becoming the first Slovenian man to reach supercentenarian status.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Nikolaj Dragoš upihnil 108. svečko” – Dnevnik, 27 August 2015

* “Najstarejši Slovenec od mrtvih obudil vojaka” – Slovenske Novice, 16 September 2016

* “Niko Dragoš, kleni Belokranjec in najstarejši Slovenec, praznoval 110. rojstni dan” – Moja Dolenjska, 29 August 2017

* “Umrl najstarejši Slovenec, star 110 let” – Dnevnik, 2 April 2018

GALLERY