From 27 January 2015 to 17 July 2015 he served as an Alternate Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction in Tsipras's first cabinet.

From 2000 to 2003, he was advisor to the Greek Permanent Mission to the United Nations (for the works of the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly).

In 2002, he was appointed Professor of Public Law at Democritus University of Thrace, where he was also President of the Department of Political Sciences and Social Administration.

From 2003 to 2004, he was a member of an experts' committee in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs working on the drafting of the European Constitution.

Katrougalos has also worked as advisor for law reforms in Uzbekistan, Albania, North Macedonia, Syria and Armenia.

During the economic crisis of 2010 he sharply criticized the austerity policies dictated by the IMF, with scientific articles,[4][5][6] public action at national and European courts.

He has designed the pensions reform, which has unified the highly fragmented system of Greek Social Security.