The
Ionian Academy was the first Greek University of modern times, established in 1824 by
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford. It was in operation in Corfu for forty years, until 1864, up to the Union of the Ionian Islands with the Greek State. The Ionian University was established in 1984 by the Greek government under the Prime Ministership of
Andreas Papandreou in recognition of Corfu's contribution to
education in Greece as the seat of the first University of Greece, the Ionian Academy, that was established in 1824, forty years before the cession of the
Ionian islands to Greece and just three years after
Greece's Revolution of 1821. The Prime Ministership thus kept an election promise to the people of Corfu, satisfying their long held demand that a successor university to the Ionian Academy be built. On 21 May 1985, the founding of the Ionian University was announced in a speech at City-Hall square in Corfu city. ==Faculties and departments==