Ioannis Malandrakis was born in 1964 in Voukolies, Chania. His parents were Ioannis Malandrakis from Palia Roumata and his mother, Vassileia Malandrakis, née Polychronidi, from Glossa, Kolymvari. He has four siblings: Cleanthi, Sofia, Tonia, and Markos.

He is married to Ioanna (Vanna) Nikiforaki, a mathematician, and they have two children, Panagiotis, a doctor, and Ilianna, a law student at the University of Athens.

He is an Economist with an MSc and has been working at the Bank of Greece since April 1994, serving as Head of the Foreign Exchange Department. He has also worked at OTE in the financial sector until April 1994 and earlier in the private sector.

He is a graduate of the University of Piraeus, Department of Business Organization and Administration. He holds a Certificate of Specialization in Marketing from the University of Piraeus. Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree (MSc) from the Department of Production and Management Engineering of the Technical University of Crete.

He has extensive experience in adult education as a certified trainer by the National Accreditation Centre for Continuing Vocational Training (EKEPIS), a certified trainer of trainers by the National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP) and the Hellenic Bank Association, as well as a certified observer of procedures by EOPPEP. He is also a certified trainer by DYPA – Public Employment Service (formerly OAED). He has delivered thousands of hours of lectures on topics including Business Organization and Administration, Public Finance, Public Relations, Communication Techniques, and Office Organization. For twelve years, he was a lecturer at the Public Institutes of Vocational Training (IEK) in Chania.

He has participated in numerous social initiatives and actions, in social and labor struggles aimed at improving the daily lives of citizens. He has contributed to the submission, coordination, and implementation of a large number of programs co-financed by the European Union, focusing on the training and reintegration of unemployed individuals into the labor market, as well as on the specialization of employees, in collaboration with municipalities, as well as the creation of a Municipal Network (DEPAN).

In the 2010 municipal elections, he was elected Mayor of the Kallikratis Municipality of Platanias and was re-elected in 2014 and 2019 as the head of the coalition “Citizen Cooperation for Local Governance.”

In the 2023 elections, he was re-elected as Mayor, again as the head of the same coalition, with a high percentage of acceptance from the citizens.

He is a member of the Board of the Regional Union of Municipalities of Crete (PED Crete), a member of the Energy Committee of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Vice President of DEPAN, a member of the Board of the Chania Cooperative Bank, a member of the Board of the Development Company of Local Government (PETA S.A.), a founding member and board member of the “Network of Resilient Municipalities of Greece,” President of  Association of Cretan Olive Municipalities (SEDIK), a member of the Board of the Organization for the Development of Crete (OAK S.A.), and a member of the “Building Europe with Local Government Representatives – BELC” network.

He is member of the Leader Program Committee, that he also served as Chairman, and a member of numerous committees. In all the above councils and committees, he participates as an unpaid member.

Additionally, he has participated in numerous conferences and informational events related to local government.

Throughout his tenure, he has made interventions in the institutional bodies of KEDE, as well as written proposals to ministries on dozens of issues concerning the Municipality of Platanias and local government more broadly, many of which have been accepted.