Damyan /Dame/ Ivanov Gruev is a Bulgarian revolutionary, active participant in the National Liberation Movement in Macedonia and Edirne.
He was born in Smilevo village /near Bitola/ on February 19th 1871. He is one of the founders of Bulgarian Macedonia – Edirne revolutional committees /BMERC/.
Gruev studied in Bitola, in the Bulgarian Male High School in Thessaloniki and in the Great Academi in Belgrade. He immigrated in Bulgaria and studied history in the Sofia Univercity. In 1891 he was expelled because he was a suspect for the murder of minister Hristo Belchev. Accusations were groundless and he was not conviced.
He left to become a teacher in Bitola, Smilevo and Prilep. In the summer on 1893 he settled in Thessaloniki where he worked as an editor at the printing house of Kone Samardjiev. In Thessaloniki he managed to create revolutionary organization.
On 23rd of October 1893 together with Dr. Hristo Tatarchev, Ivan Hadjinikolov, Petar Poparsov, Anton Dimitrov and Hristo Batandjiev he created Bulgarian Macedonia – Edirne revolutionary committees /BMERC/. Later the organization changes its name to VMORO. Dr Hristo Tatarcher was elected for chairman and Dame Gruev was elected for secretary and treasurer.All contemporaries agree that Dame is the heart and soul of the organization.
In the coming years he works as a controller of the Bulgarian schools and travels in order to consolidate the network of committees. In 1900 he was arrested by the Turkish authorities and spent almost two years in prison in Bitola. In May 1902 he was exiled in Podrum kale in Asia Minor. Several months later he was amnestied.
He stayd against the Ilinden rebellion but he failed to prevent it. In April 1903 in his home in Smilevo he organized congress of VMORO. Together with Anastas Lozanchev and Boris Sarafov he was elected for member of the headquarters. He took actively participation in Ilinden – Preobrajenie rebellion and after its failure he participated in VMORO restoration. In 1903 Dame plays a leading role in the organization. He becomes a member of the Masonic lodge.In the summer of 1905 he leads the Rila congress of WMRO and was elected for a member of the central committee.
On 23rd of December 1906 he and other rebels were found by the Turkish authorities near to Maleshevsko village. Shootout begins and Dame Gruev is killed. With his death WMORO loses an exclusive leader and weakens.
