A member of the DSB party, which he also leads, Atansov previously served as Member of the Sofia City Council from 2011 to 2014 and Director of the State Agency for National Security from 1997 to 2001.

Due to this, ten of the ministers were fired, including Bogomil Bonev, Mario Tagarinski, and Alexander Bozhkov.

On 5 December 2001, his list was quoted on a presidential debate, leading many to not support him.

In 2009, Atanasov did not have a seat yet, but he was appointed director of the Information Services AD until August 2010, being replaced by Dyankov.

On 12 April 2018, as chairman, he co-founded an electoral alliance called Democratic Bulgaria.