Election of Ioannis Kapodistrias

In April 1827, the Third National Assembly at Troezen elected Ioannis Kapodistrias as governor of Greece for a term of seven years. Kapodistrias was born in 1776 into a noble family on Corfu. He had served as a leading official of the Septinsular Republic and then entered the Russian diplomatic service, rising to become joint foreign minister of Russia under Tsar Alexander I. He was one of the most respected diplomats in Europe, having played an important role at the Congress of Vienna, and he had also helped secure Swiss independence and neutrality. The Greeks hoped his prestige and experience would unite their divided factions and win the support of the European powers. Kapodistrias accepted and arrived in Greece in January 1828, landing at Nafplio before settling the government at Aegina. He found the country devastated by years of war, with no functioning administration, empty treasury, destroyed farms and widespread poverty. He became the first head of state of modern Greece and set about building the institutions of a new nation, though his authoritarian methods caused opposition.