In 1962, he became Foreign Minister for the new government that was formed by Todor Zhivkov after the fall of the Anton Yugov government and the defeat of the Stalinist and pro-Chinese Communist Party faction headed by Vulko Chervenkov.

On 7 April 1968 he became the first Eastern Bloc Foreign Minister to visit Reykjavík, Iceland.

His visits were instrumental in the elimination of the visa regime between Bulgaria and Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, he had been caught in a sudden snowstorm while skiing alone on mount Vitosha near Sofia.

He had apparently fallen, been injured, and died of hypothermia and exhaustion before being found by the mountain rescue service.