We were all shocked and deeply saddened to hear of Jernej’s passing last Sunday while he was in Lithuania representing AIA at the European Disability Forum General Assembly.

I first met Jernej in 2015 – at the AIA General Assembly Meeting in Seville and our friendship became stronger over the following 10 years.

Here are just a few things about Jernej that I have valued and which have touched me:

Firstly, His passion as an advocate for people with aphasia, and for life itself.

His strength of personality

and His joy of having the opportunity of what he called ‘his second life’ 

His pleasure at becoming a member of the AIA Board

and His stubbornness when he didn’t agree with what was being said.

His commitment and dedication to AIA  – and the effortless way he raised awareness of aphasia and the AIA community wherever he went.

His tremendous sense of fun and the unmistakable twinkle in his eyes when he was feeling confident and comfortable in his own skin.

And yes he used to have great fun teasing me at every opportunity.

He called me “The Boss” and I called him “Mr President, Sir.”

Indeed – we will all treasure our memories of our dear friend and President. Rest in Peace my friend.

Melanie Derbyshire, Secretary of AIA

It is with deep sorrow and sadness that we share the news of the passing of Jernej Sluga, Slovenian disability rights champion and President of the International Aphasia Association. Jernej passed away while attending our Annual General Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Mr Sluga was a committed activist and an important member of both the international aphasia movement and the Slovenian disability movement.

He trained as an electrical engineer and went on to found Špica International. He was also a veteran hockey player and a skier.

He then experienced a stroke and, after successful rehabilitation, he started what he called ‘his second life’. He not only resumed skiing, but he also became a very committed cyclist, an activity he used to raise awareness of issues of stroke and aphasia survivors by biking all over Slovenia. Not only did he resume his job, but he also started supporting other stroke survivors and championing disability rights. He became President of the International Aphasia Association in 2019, campaigning for raising awareness of aphasia in society.

You can watch a video about his journey, released in 2024.

Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum, said:

I was devastated to learn about the passing of Jernej, who was such a tireless member and a true champion for the disability rights movement. He passed away while on duty for disability rights, participating in the EDF General Assembly in Vilnius. My deepest condolences and thoughts are with his family and loved ones, and we will do all we can to support them in such a difficult period.

André Felix, Communications Manager at the European Disability Forum

Jernej, je l’ai connu en aout 2012 pour un défi « Guérir pour guérir » de Saint Etienne (en France) à Sézana (en Slovénie):
– tous les jours je courrais en jogging les matins et l’après-midi
– je l’ai présenté AIA (photo)

En octobre 2022, avec des amis de Slovénie, il est venu en France, et aussi chez moi (photo).

Il m’appelait toujours par téléphone mais on avait beaucoup de mal à parler !!
Car je n’arrive pas à parler en anglais…

C’était mon ami et on rigolait toujours.

Il va me manquer beaucoup….

Jean-Dominique Journet, Président de la Fédération Nationale des Aphasiques de France (FNAF)

Les membres de la Ligue Hispanophone des Personnes Aphasiques et de la Fondation Argentine de  l’aphasie partagent le deuil suite à la disparition soudaine  de Jernej  président de l’AIA .

Nos condoléances.

Paula Ryan, USA, Argentina, Silvia Rubio, Fundación Argentina de Afasia, LIHA – Liga Hispanoamericana De Afasia 

His commitment will always inspire us.

Jean-Marie Annoni, Treasurer of AIA

From Austria we send our condolences to his family and friends and the Aphasia Community in Slovenia! May the aphasia organization continue in his spirit! 

Jacqueline Stark and Christiane Pons and the members of the Aphasie-Club

The entire Quebec community, we extend our deepest sympathies. Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Aphasie Québec · Le réseau

So deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Jernej, president of AIA. Just a few months ago, we at the Stroke Alliance for Europe, SAFE had the privilege of welcoming him to our  European Life After Stroke Forum ELASF, in Prague where he gave a truly inspiring speech . His spirit, energy, and deep commitment to life after stroke/ aphasia advocacy will be remembered.

Please accept our condolences to his family and AIA members. We are grateful for the time we were able to spend with him and meet him up close.

Hariklia Proios, PhD CCC-SLP Professor, President of SAFE

I met Jernej for the first time in Prague during European Life after Stroke Forum, 2025, and I was so impressed by his enthusiasm and involvement in all aphasia topics. He will be missed a lot. My condolences to all his family, friends and colleagues!

Dipl.eng. Dorina Dobreva, President of Association for Stroke and Aphasia Sofia, Bulgaria

Jernej was always so full of life. Members of the AAA enjoyed meeting Jernej in person when he travelled to Australia for our conference in Perth in November 2023.  Our condolences to AIA community and Jernej’s family.

Claire Bennington, Australian Aphasia Association

E’ un duro colpo per me e per tutti gli afasici che lottano per avere un futuro migliore.

Ci mancherà con tutte quelle iniziative che faceva e che aveva in programma di fare.

It is a hard blow for me and for all the aphasics who fight to have a better future.

We will miss him with all those initiatives he did and had planned to do.

Rest in peace

Giuseppe Bobbo, Associazione Italiana Afasici

In the name of Ahasie Suisse and all members I send our condolences to the family.

We deeply regret this lost.

Crisanto Farese, Preisdent of Aphsie Suisse

We deeply regret the loss of our president. A fighter and an exceptional person who always worked to improve the quality of life for people with aphasia.

Asociación Ayuda Afasia 

Sympathy and condolences for President Jernej SlugaRegards.

Othmar Walser, Austria

We think of him as a warrior, as someone who inspired a lot of crucial aphasia awareness work and who fiercly reminded us in the past couple of years to remain attentive towards each other. We will certainly never forget these messages he conveyed.

Fanni Eckhardt, Hungarian Aphasia Association