Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 17769 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; Graf Ioann Kapodistriya; Conte Capo d'Istria), was a Greek Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire and 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) and he is considered as the founder of the modern Greek State, and the founder of Greek independence.