He was also the founder and editor of Folklore and Ethnography Collection (СбНУНК) from 1889 to 1902 and the Bulgarian Observer [bg] magazine from 1893–1900.

Shishmanov was a member of the People's Liberal Party, and in 1903 he became Minister of Public Education, but in early 1907 he left office because of disagreement with the government's actions during the University crisis [bg].

[3] Shishmanov acted as a plenipotentiary representative of Bulgaria in the Ukrainian People's Republic during the reign of Pavlo Skoropadsky in 1918–1919.

He donated a portion of his library to the Vardar Macedonia Student Association [bg].

[5] Shishmanov was a member of the Macedonian Scientific Institute[6] He died in Oslo on June 23, 1928, at the age of 65.