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

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Ioannis Capodistrias. the Doctor, the Humanist, the Pacifist Dr Anastasios Vasiadis – Panhellenic Medical Association 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 Switzerland and more specifically to the Geneva where he lived for years. He was a doctor, a diplomatic genius and a politician of the 19th century, whose work and vision shaped Europe. Ioannis Capodistrias’ principles underpin Europe until today. Ioannis Capodistrias is mainly known to Greece 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 Corfu 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 “count” 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 Slovenia. 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 medicine, surgery, philosophy and law 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 Treaty of Campo Formio 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 Ionian Islands. His top priorities? The respect of medical ethics and to organize the healthcare of the citizens. THE PERIOD OF SEPTINSULAR REPUBLIC 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 “Septinsular Republic”. 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 Russia, Napoleon 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 Vienna 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 CONGRESS OF VIENNA 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 Napoleonic Wars. 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, Lausanne 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 Paris, Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Troppau (Opawa), Laibach (Ljubljana), as well in special diplomatic missions in London, Berlin, Munich, Venice, Vienna, Saint Petersburg, 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 Congress of Laibach. 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.
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