Description

He served as Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire and later as the first Governor of the New Greek state of the transitional period during which the country was under the protection of the Great Powers.

He came from an aristocratic family with a political tradition, which is why he became involved in politics as early as 1803 when he was appointed secretary of the Ionian State. With the occupation of the Ionian Islands by the French, he withdrew and joined the Russian diplomatic service.

There he held important positions, managing to become Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1822 when he was forced to resign due to the Revolution of 1821. On April 14, 1827, the National Assembly of Troizina elected him the first governor of Greece for seven years, the position from which he came into conflict with the local officials resulting in his murder in Nafplio, by the brother and son of Petrobei Mavromichalis, in retaliation for the imprisonment of the latter.

As governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias announced the founding of the Greek State and promoted important reforms for the reorganization of the state mechanism, as well as for the establishment of the legal framework of the new state. He also reorganized the armed forces into regular corps under a single command. At the same time, he tried and succeeded in expanding the borders of the new state and securing Greek independence.