He came from an aristocratic family with a political tradition, so he got involved with politics as early as 1803 when he was appointed secretary of the Ionian state. After the French occupation of the Ionian Islands, he withdrew and joined the Russian diplomatic service. There he occupied important positions, succeeding himself as Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire from
1815 to 1822, when he was forced to resign because of the Revolution of 1821. On April 14, 1827, the National Assembly of Troezina elected him the first governor of Greece, a position he framed by local officials resulting in his assassination on October 9, 1831, in Nafplio, by his brother and son Petromey in retaliation for the latter's imprisonment. As governor of Greece, he pushed for significant reforms to restore the state machine, as well as to establish the legal framework of the state necessary for the establishment of order. It also reorganized the Armed Forces under a single command.