GRUBOR: DECORATION - CROWN OF MY WORK, AND AN HONOR FOR MY NATIVE DRVAR

BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 16 /SRNA/ - Surgeon Nikica Grubor stated that the Order of Karađorđe's Star First Class, which was presented to him today in Belgrade on the occasion of Sretenje, represents the crowning achievement of his work, but also belongs to his colleagues, as well as to Drvar, where he comes from.

Grubor said that he views this decoration as a triumph of the idea that through professional work, combined with courage, diligence, and dedication, one serves the state and the entire Serbian people.

"I am overjoyed. I was born in Drvar, and I believe this is an honor and a success for our people and our region as well," Grubor told reporters after the ceremony of presenting the Sretenje decorations, which was attended by officials of Republika Srpska and Serbia.

He emphasized that he is very often in Republika Srpska, both privately and professionally, and that this will continue to be the case.

"I am in Banja Luka almost every Friday, depending on my workload. I am willing to help, and I will continue to do so as long as I am an active surgeon, and that will be for a long time," Grubor said.

Grubor was warmly congratulated on receiving the Order of Karađorđe's Star by SNSD leader Milorad Dodik.

Professor Dr. Nikica Grubor was born on October 17, 1963, in Drvar. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sarajevo and specialized in general surgery at the First Surgical Clinic of the Clinical Center of Serbia in Belgrade.

He passed the specialist examination in general surgery with distinction at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. He is employed at the First Surgical Clinic in Belgrade and also serves as a professor in the Department of Surgery with Anesthesiology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade.

The Sretenje decorations, which are traditionally awarded on the occasion of Serbia's Statehood Day, were presented today by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić to more than 70 distinguished individuals and institutions.

Sretenje/Candlemass is also observed as the Statehood Day of Republika Srpska, and this year’s slogan is "Unity and Pride".

Candlemass is marked as Statehood Day in remembrance of February 15, 1804, when the First Serbian Uprising was launched under the leadership of Karađorđe Petrović against the Ottoman Empire, and of the same date in 1835, when the first constitution of the Principality of Serbia, known as the Sretenje Constitution, was adopted in Kragujevac.