Alexandros Kallimachis

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Alexandros Callimachi, also known as Alexandros Kallimachis, was a 19th-century statesman born around 1800. He was the son of Scarlat Callimachi. In 1821, after his father’s death, his family fled Moldavia and found refuge in Russia, where he studied at the University of Kiev. After travelling in Europe, he moved to the Ottoman Empire in 1829, where his family’s possessions and titles were restored. He joined the Ottoman administration, first as an attaché and then as counselor to Rashid Pasha, the Ottoman ambassador to Paris. In 1848 he became Minister Plenipotentiary to London, and in 1849 to Paris.

In 1850 he was appointed Prince of Samos, but he did not go there in person; he allowed Georgios Konemenos to govern the island. His rule faced resistance from some islanders. He is known for creating the Principality of Samos’s constitutional system, with separate legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He also promoted education, founding four Greek schools and 22 elementary schools, and establishing a system of courts and a printing house.

In 1853 he retired to Versailles, but in 1855 he was recalled as ambassador to Vienna, a post he took after helping with Istanbul conferences on reorganizing the Danubian principalities. In June 1861 he received the Ottoman title of Bala, the first Christian to be given that honor. He died in 1876.