Topolevsky, Gregorio

TOPOLEVSKY, GREGORIO (1907–1986), Argentine politician and physician. Born in Grodno, Russia, Topolevsky immigrated to Argentina as a child and became a physician specializing in otorhinolaryngology. Between 1933 and 1945, he was frequently arrested for political agitation against the dictatorial governments in Argentina and was again imprisoned in 1951. In 1937 he fought on the republican side in the Spanish Civil War. After World War II he was a member of the Unión Civica Radical del Pueblo party and was appointed Argentine ambassador to Israel (1955–58). Later, during the presidency of Arturo Illia, Topolevsky was appointed director general of social welfare in the Ministry of Communications. Active in Jewish communal affairs, he was chairman of a number of local Jewish organizations, among them the Instituto de Intercambio Cultural Argentino Israelí.