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Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias, sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias (Greek: Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; Russian: граф Иоанн Каподистрия, Graf Ioann Kapodistriya; Italian: Giovanni Antonio Capodistria Conte Capo d'Istria), was a Greek statesmen who served as the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire and was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of Europe. After a long career in European politics and diplomacy he was elected as the first head of state of independent Greece (1827-31). He is considered as the founder of the modern Greek state, and of Greek independence.
During his term as Governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias introduced the first currency of the modern Greek state, the phoenix (Greek: φοίνιξ). The name was that of the mythical phoenix bird and was meant to symbolize the rebirth of Greece during the still ongoing Greek War of Independence. Although he was not monarch, the coins carried the name of Ioannis Kapodistrias on the obverse. |
