Captain Kidoniefs was born in Athens in 1953. He entered the Naval Academy in 1971 and graduated in 1975 receiving his commission as an ensign in the Hellenic Navy.

He served on a number of ships (frigates, destroyers, LSTs, Naval Academy training ship ship ARIS) as a division officer and XO. He commanded LST SYROS from 1989 to 1990.

He held the post of the new projects section manager in the Weapons Directorate at Salamis Naval Base (1990-1991) and from June 1991 to July 1995 he managed  the Guided Missiles and Systems section of the Weapons Directorate in the Hellenic Navy General Staff. He acted as the Single Point Of Contact, Chairman and Steering Committee member for Greece in various international consortia and organizations (NATO Seasparrow, JEC Harpoon, European Tartar Working Group, Penguin Users' Forum etc)

From July 1995 to August 1996 he served as commanding officer of HS NEARCHOS, an ADAMS-class destroyer. He subsequently served as the Defence Attaché of Greece in Canada from August 1996 to August 1998. From August 1998 on he is the Director of Weapons Systems at Hellenic Navy General Staff.

He attended a number of military schools among which the Hellenic Navy War College and the Naval Postgraduate school in Monterey California where he earned a Master's degree in Engineering Science and a Bachelor's degree in Electronics.

Decorations and Medals:

Commander of the Order of Phoenix

Commendation Medal for Meritorious Command B' Order

Citation for Meritorious Service as staff officer B' Order