From 27 January to 28 August 2015, he served as the Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras.

His doctoral thesis was titled: "Industrial Development and the Regional Problem: The Case of Greece".

[3] Stathakis worked at the Mediterranean Studies Foundation from 1985 to 1986 and at the Computer Technology Institute in Patras from 1986 to 1987.

[9] Following the 2015 legislative election, Stathakis was appointed as the Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras.

[1] Stathakis was named as a potential replacement for Yanis Varoufakis after he resigned as Minister for Finance on 6 July 2015, following Tsipras' decision to disregard the resounding 'No' vote in the Greek bailout referendum and cave in to the creditors' demand that Greek accepted a new bailout package without any debt relief.