Ioannis Capodistrias. The Doctor, the Humanist, the Pacifist Dr Anastasios Vasiadis – Panhellenic Medical Association

Dear President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Collegues, It is a great honor for me to accept Jacques de Haller’s invitation to speak about Ioannis Capodistrias, an international distinguished personality whose name was closely linked to and more specifically to the where he lived for years. He was a doctor, a diplomatic genius and a politician of the 19th century, whose work and vision shaped . Ioannis Capodistrias’ principles underpin Europe until today. Ioannis Capodistrias is mainly known to as the First Governor, after the Ottoman domination that ended with the 1821 Greek War of Independence and was followed by ten years of fighting. He produced an outstanding work within only three years of governing. During his governance, he transformed the impoverished from the wars and the epidemic diseases country, to an organized state with international recognition. He offered a lot to Greece as a governor. In addition, he is honored as a prominent politician and a diplomat by the European history as his actions shaped the ideals of Europe.

THE EARLY YEARS Ioannis Capodistrias was born in in 1776, which was under Venetian domination at the time.

His father Antonios, came from a noble family. One of his ancestors had received the title of the “” from Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy (Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia).

Capodistrias’ family moved to Corfu at the end of 14th century from Istria (today’s Koper), also named “Capo d’ Istria”, a region located at the Adriatic Sea in . Capodistrias’ family name derives from the aforementioned homophone city. Before, his family name was Vitori, which was the Italian translation of the ancestral name of the byzantine noble family “Nikita” from Constantinopolis.

Young Ioannis Capodistrias studied , surgery, and at the prestigious university of Padova in Italy.

Capodistrias’ studies of medicine and more precisely of surgery, had a significant influence on his way of thinking and his academic, diplomatic and political course at a time of wars and social uprisings in Europe.

Capodistrias’ return to Corfu coincided with the end of Corfu’s Venetian occupation, after the and the come of the Democratic French on the island, who sought to radically change the social structures.

Ioannis Capodistrias worked as a physician and a surgeon in Corfu from 1797 to 1801. He was a young man with an excellent scientific training. Moreover, he offered his services for free to the sufferers. Rich and poor visited his medical office which remained open 24 continuous hours.

Up until then, the minor surgeries were performed by some local barbers.

Soon, he acquired a considerable reputation, based on his medical success. According to historical sources, he had successfully delivered quintuplets pregnancy.

Capodistrias’ scientific achievements brought hope to the occupied Corfu’s people who suffered from diseases.

He created and headed the first Medical Association of the . His top priorities? The respect of medical ethics and to organize the healthcare of the citizens.

THE PERIOD OF SEPTINSULAR

Russian and Turkish forces withdrew their troops from Corfu in 1799, after a four month siege. A year later, the first Modern Greek state is created, with the name “”. It was – mainly – under Russian control.

Capodistrias enjoyed considerable reputation. He became the director of the island’s military hospital and the sanitary officer of the Septinsular Republic, a position equivalent to the Minister of Health.

Civil conflicts and military invasions threaten the newly created state. Capodistrias goes on government missions in the Septinsular Republic, with success. The Septinsular Republic’s Senate honors him for his achievements with the offer of the State Secretary position, a post equivalent to the Prime Minister’s one.

As a State Secretary he works extensively with the Septinsular Republic’s affairs, external politics, maritime affairs, commerce, administrators’ training, creation of new schools, defense, etc.

One of his great achievements was the adoption and the ratification of the new democratic constitution.

However, the Treaty of Tilsit, signed by the emperors of France and , and Alexander I, respectively, marked the end of the Septinsular Republic. The Ionian Islands are granted to France.

CAPODISTRIAS AND RUSSIA

In 1808, the Tsar Alexander I invites Ioannis Capodistrias to Russia to serve at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his political career in Russia, Capodistrias will become a key figure of the Russian and European diplomacy. In and Bucharest, he will be assigned with diplomatic duties and perform them with success. The Tsar is impressed.

As a result, he becomes the Tsar’s diplomatic representative during Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. At the same time, he is offering his medical services to numerous casualties. The hardships he endured, the humidity, the arctic cold, and the emotional tension from the misery, resulted in his premature bleaching of hair at the age of 36.

CAPODISTRIAS AND SWITZERLAND

Capodistrias won the Tsar’s absolute trust who soon assigned him a difficult task: The unification of the state of Switzerland after the defeat of the French Troops. Switzerland was politically divided, by dint of conflicting spheres of influence and territorial claims. It was on the verge of a civil war.

Tsar Alexander wrote to Capodistrias who had been sent to a different diplomatic mission at the time: “Dear Count I am aware of your democratic ideas. We are about to save a democratic country. Please come to Switzerland”.

In November 1813, Ioannis Capodistrias arrives in Switzerland. After his arrival, his political moves were remarkable. He quickly became an insider of the Swiss matters. He visited all political actors and the Swiss cantons. He prepared draft decisions and constitutions, sought for advice and looked for a compromise.

Ηe made the impossible possible: To reconcile the irreconcilable

He united the different in terms of religion, politics, economy and language, Swiss cantons. They adopted a single constitution, made peace and established equal rights at a time where the region’s balances were fragile. He draw up the first Swiss Constitution, which remains in force until today.

After his successful efforts, Ioannis Capodistrias wrote a letter to his father:

“The Swiss problems are over. The Diet ratified the Federal Constitution. Swiss, those marvelous people showed me warmth, gratitude and friendship. If Switzerland could be a happy and independent country in the future, then I would have known that I hadn’t lost my time nor had I tried in vain”.

THE

In 1814, Capodistrias became Russia’s Minister of External Affairs and remained Tsar’s Alexander closest partner. He accompanied him in the Congress of Vienna which was set to restore order in Europe after the . He will act as an equal interlocutor next to bright diplomacy personalities such as the Austrian Chancellor Metternich, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Talleyrand and the English Minister of Foreign Affairs Castlereagh.

The Congress of Vienna was one of the most important congresses in the history of Europe and marked a watershed in the history of International Law. All European Leaderships participated in the Congress with 450 representatives attending it. Everyone recognized Capodistrias as a charismatic personality. With his extraordinary diplomatic skills and political insight, he influenced all decisions that determined the European geography and history.

His first concern in the Congress was to establish Switzerland as an independent and neutral country. All sides supported him. In recognition of his accomplishments, Geneva, and Vaud awarded Kapodistrias honorary citizenship.

THE CAPODISTRIAS FRIENDSHIP WITH JEAN - GABRIEL EYNARD

Ioannis Capodistrias met his soon to be close friend, Jean-Gabriel Eynard, a famous banker in the Congress of Vienna. Eynard latter wrote:

“Capodistrias, a diplomatic genious, played a leading role next to the protagonists of the Congress of Vienna”.

According to the official representative of the Swiss Government, Pictet de Rochemont: “We owe so much to this decent man, Capodistrias. He is so gentle that we would be proud if he were one of us. He is a diplomatic genius. Without him, the Congress of Vienna and all consultations would fail. I firmly believe that without his contribution Switzerland’s history would be different. If he ever comes in Geneva, ring the bells of churches and let the artillery fire in his honour”.

Ioannis Capodistrias participated in Vienna Congress, and the following Congresses in , Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Troppau (Opawa), Laibach (), as well in special diplomatic missions in , Berlin, Munich, Venice, Vienna, , Geneva and elsewhere.

KAPODISTRIAS DIPLOMATIC GENIUS He worked intensively for the unification of Germany. The German Confederation lasts until today.

He deterred the break-up of France, withdrew the occupying military forces from the French territory, settled the financial commitments of France to the winners of the war and considerably reduced them.

He succeeded in the adoption of a constitution in the Kingdom of Poland and the designation of Kraków as a free city.

He actively intervened to deter the great powers of the time from suppressing the liberation movements in Italy and Spain with the help of the army.

He boosted Slovenians’ national morale by demanding for them to have a representative in the .

He achieved the recognition of the Ionian Islands as a free and independent region – under English supervision.

France recognized Capodistrias’ efforts for its rescue and offered him the National Order of the Legion of Honour.

He was awarded by Tsar Alexander I, the Star of the Order of Saint Anna, the Order of Saint Vladimir and the Order of Alexander Nevsky for his excellent skills and his contribution to resolve more critical European issues.

He was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle by the King of Prussia, the Order of Saint Stephen by the Emperor of Austria, the Order of the White Eagle by Poland and the Order of the Faith by the Kingdom of Württemberg.

The free city of Kraków declared him an honorary citizen and he became Fellow by the Academy of Sciences of Saint Petersburg.

CAPODISTRIAS FORERUNNER OF EUROPE

After defending the European affairs, Capodistrias started expressing his views on how to organize Europe. According to him, Europe needed some serious reforms on an international level and on each country’s domestic policies. Therefore, he paved the way for the creation of an inter-state union to protect the European states’ borders, independence, integrity and governance.

These principles made Capodistrias the forerunner of the EU concept: a common motherland for its residents.

CAPODISTRIAS FORERUNNER OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Moreover, he had been involved with the global community affairs. He suggested the creation of a Transnational Organization so as to peacefully resolve the interstate disputes. Capodistrias’ project put the foundations for the concept of the League of Nations. We could call him the forerunner of the United Nations.

CAPODISTRIAS AGAINST SLAVERY

Capodistrias mentioned the slave trade problem in Africa at the European Congresses. For this matter, he submitted a comprehensive plan. He suggested the foundation of a new organization: “L’ Institution Africaine”.

Decades later, his proposal was brought forward in the Congress of Berlin (1884 – 1885), where the creation of the “Association Internationale Africaine” was decided.

CAPODISTRIAS, FIRST GOVERNOR OF INDEPENDENT GREECE

However, the time had come for Capodistrias to offer his services to his motherland, Greece.

When the Greek Revolution and the subsequent war against the Ottoman domination broke out in 1821, Capodistrias resigned from Minister of Foreign Affairs. Before of this, he had prevented the deployment of European troops, to crushing the revolution.

He helped the Greek nation in many ways with his knowledge and diplomatic activities in Europe. His efforts bore fruit with the Protocol of Saint Petersburg signed in 1926, in Russia. The Protocol recognized the independence of Greece at a time where the Revolution was bound to fail. The final independence of the new Greek state was consolidated two years later with the Protocol of London.

In 1827 Ioannis Capodistrias was unanimously elected as the first by the 3rd National Assembly at the ancient city of Troezene.

After extensive consultations in the European capitals to win their support for the Greek state, Capodistrias arrived in Nafplion, the first capital city of Greece. People cheered loudly to welcome him. His government installed temporarily on Aigina Island and later in Nafplion.

Capodistrias had to govern a completely devastated country because of the wars and the occupation. Greece did not have any domestic production at all. The population was impoverished, experienced deprivation and suffered from diseases.

Capodistrias withdrew the remaining Ottoman troops, fixed the Greek borders, organised a free and independent sovereign state with its own administrative apparatus, government, army, fleet, banks, post offices, public services, hospitals, schools, poorhouses, orphanages, Army Academy, Farm School, Courts of Justice, law, agricultural production, trade, university and everything that shows a prosperous country.

How could Capodistrias achieve all these goals within his 3 year term of office? This is a vast area of study not to be covered in the present speech.

He gave away his property to support his government program and refused to receive a salary.

The Swiss banker Jean-Gabriel Eynard helped Capodistrias and his government with the offer of an enormous amount of money for the recovery of the country and the creation of the first National .

In his attempts to create a European state within a short time, Capodistrias made political opponents. The new political and social forces had contradictory interests.

One morning, Capodistrias was murdered at the age of 55, by his fellow citizens while going to the church, at a time of major political disputes.

The political unrest that followed his death, stunted the country’s growth and progress for many years.

Europe was deeply saddened by the dramatic news.

Once informed for the murder of his dear friend Ioannis Capodistrias, Jean-Gabriel Eynard wrote: “Today, Greece was murdered”.

Ioannis Capodistrias was interred in his family grave on Corfu Island, his motherland.

CAPODISTRIAS – DOCTOR FIRST DOCTOR FOR EVER

Dear Collegues, I started my speech with the political achievements of Dr. Ioannis Capodistrias. Let me end it with his medical ones’.

In spite of his deep involvement with politics and diplomacy, Capodistrias never abandoned medicine.

During his diplomatic travels to the major urban centers of the time and cities with large libraries and eminent university professors with whom he had contact, Capodistrias seized every opportunity to be informed on the new discoveries of medicine.

His arrival to Nafplion coincided with the outbreak of plague in Greece. Capodistrias used medicine and his political willpower to deal with the problem. He constructed hospitals and offered his medical services to patients and casualties.

Citizens were regularly informed about the dangers and how to deal with the infectious diseases of the time, how to preserve food and the recent scientific evidence.

Capodistrias’ medical articles were extremely interesting.

The main subject of his medical articles was the outbreak of the diseases in Europe, at the time, the plague, the yellow fever, the and the smallpox.

He frequently referred to the smallpox. He used accurate details about the vaccination, its complications, and the clinical symptoms for the unvaccinated individuals, or how the rash appeared after vaccination.

Capodistrias’ articles produced a positive outcome. The first successful vaccination campaign in the .

Capodistrias also published informative medical articles about cholera.

Dr Capodistrias also wrote articles about anatomy such the ducts of the sweat glands.

In July 1831, Ioannis Capodistrias wrote an article about his observations in a chemical laboratory in 1827 on the euphoric effects of nitrous oxide and its use on surgeries, performed by himself as well.

He highlighted the advantages of the human upright posture and the fact that we walk upright. He also stressed the benefits of the anatomy of the vertebral column and the lower limps, the sensory organs, and as far as the upper limps he highlighted the index.

Finally, Capodistrias not only did, he refer to the human brain, its development and anatomy, but also to speech as a distinctive trait.

This was the last medical publication of Capodistrias before he passed away.

Historical researches confirm his greatness.

Greece and Europe honored Capodistrias with monuments.

There is a statue of Ioannis Capodistrias in front of the homonymous Capodistrian University of .

There are also statues of him in Nafplion, the first capital of Greece, in , the island where the government temporarily installed and in Corfu, his birthplace. His figure is depicted in coins and stamps. His name has been given to foundations, schools, museums, streets, squares and airports.

The buildings from which he passed have commemorative plaques to honor him.

Statues of Capoditrias also stand in Saint Petersburg Russia, in Koper Slovenia and in Lausanne Switzerland.

Dear Colleagues, to conclude I would like to thank you for your attention.

I feel grateful for the opportunity I had to speak about our colleague who honored us, with his contribution to medicine, humanity and world peace.

In order to honor Switzerland, our host country and Geneva, the city where Capodistrias lived, I kindly ask you to watch the following short video with title “ and the Swiss Miracle”.

Thank you