It may have been a relief for Li Yizhong to relinquish his role as the top work safety troubleshooter on the mainland, which has the world's deadliest coal mines and the highest rate of work-related accidents.
The appointment of the former head of the State Administration of Work Safety as minister for industry and information is largely being viewed as a reward for Mr Li's painstakingly hard work over the past three years addressing the seemingly unstoppable mine and other workplace disasters.
The newly formed ministry is expected to provide fresh opportunities and challenges for the former chief of a state-owned oil giant and state assets regulator to sharpen his management skills.
Even though the poor workplace safety record has not seen marked improvement on Mr Li's watch, with at least 100,000 people killed each year in traffic- and work-related accidents, the 63-year-old technocrat's tough image has gained him popular support.
He has not been afraid to exhibit his abhorrence of vested interests behind the never-ending series of deadly accidents and has scolded local authorities for their indifference to safety rules in tense bursts of anger. He is reputedly the minister who swears the most in the cabinet.
His previous job was certainly not an enviable one. Dubbed the busiest minister, he had little choice but to travel extensively across the mainland to handle the aftermath of one disaster after another with his trouble-shooting team of administration colleagues, often with just a few hours' notice.
