Wang Yupu, minister of Emergency Management and an expert on oil and gas development with Chinese Academy of Engineering, died on Tuesday at the age of 64, according to the ministry.

With a doctorate in engineering, the Liaoning province native spent most of his career working in the oil and gas sector after graduating from Northeast Petroleum University in 1982. Wang was appointed as vice-governor of Heilongjiang province after serving as president of Daqing Oil Field Co in 2009. He was vice-governor for about one year before he was transferred to Beijing, where he held various posts, including deputy Party chief of the academy and chairman of China Petrochemical Corp, also known as Sinopec.

In 2017, he was appointed head of the State Administration of Work Safety, which was integrated into the Ministry of Emergency Management in March 2018.

He continued to head the new government body, but had been seldom sighted by the public since then.