He was born in Thymiana in Chios but grew up in Moschato.
In 1984 he became a member of the Central Committee of PASOK, a post in which he was reelected until 2009.
In June 2011, he resigned as member of the National Council of PASOK over disagreements with the policies followed by the government of George Papandreou over the handling of the economic crisis of Greece and the agreements made with its creditors.
[2] He became a member of Syriza and along with other former politicians of PASOK, founded the Socialist Tendency in the party.
[3] In October 2015, he was elected to the Political Secretariat of Syriza.