he was born as ignacij gruden in the small fishing village of aurisina near trieste, then part of the austro-hungarian county of gorizia and gradisca (now in italy) as first of ten children of franc gruden and justina košuta. he attended high schools in trieste and gorizia, and then studied law in vienna and graz. during world war i, he served in the austro-hungarian army and fought in the battles of the isonzo, where he was seriously injured. after the war, he continued his studies in prague, graduating in 1921. the same year, he moved to ljubljana, then part of the kingdom of serbs, croats and slovenes, where he practiced law.