Giannis Ragousis graduated from the Department of Financial Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with a major in Economics.

He completed his studies with a master's degree in Financial Development from the University of Sussex, U.K.. Giannis Ragousis is fluent in English.

From 1991 to 1993 he was the Secretary of PA.S.P., the youth division of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), as well as a member of the Central Council of the National Students Union of Greece (E.F.E.E.).

After the 2009 election, George Papandreou made Ragousis his Minister for the Interior, Decentralization and e-Governance.

He kept the post until a cabinet reshuffle on 17 June 2011, when he was appointed Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks.