EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Alison Redford trimmed her cabinet Tuesday, rewarded some veterans and promoted a controversial rookie to the critical post of energy minister.
Ken Hughes, a first-time legislature member from Calgary, replaces defeated cabinet minister Ted Morton as the point man for the province's wellspring oil and gas industry.
Veteran cabinet minister Doug Horner, the current Treasury Board president, becomes the government's top money man by adding Finance to his portfolio.
Solicitor General Jonathan Denis is now also attorney general and justice minister.
Former education minister Thomas Lukaszuk was moved to deputy premier.
The cabinet has 19 members, including Redford, which is two less than the pre-election group.
Hughes, 58, has been a key member of Redford's inner circle and was a federal Conservative MP from 1988 to 1993.
His most recent job was a four-year stint as chair of Alberta Health Services, the amalgamated superboard tasked with delivering front-line care throughout the province.
In that role he became a lightning rod for critics who charged the system was falling off the rails.
Earlier this year, the Health Quality Council delivered a scathing review of the superboard's performance.
It found that on Hughes' watch, wait times for care shot well beyond the national average. Patients were suffering without medication for hours in emergency departments. Palliative care patients were meeting undignified ends lying on gurneys in hospital hallways.
The council said it found evidence of a systematic intimidation of doctors who spoke out on poor patient care. Some were verbally abused, stripped of hospital privileges or run out of the system altogether.
Hughes stepped down as head of Alberta Health Services last December. He successfully ran for the provincial Progressive Conservative nomination in Calgary-West to replace the retiring Ron Liepert and then won the riding in the April 23 general election.
He is one of a handful of newly elected Tory members to get a seat in cabinet.
Ric McIver, the former Calgary city councillor who lost the mayoral race to Naheed Nenshi in 2010, takes over Transportation from the defeated Ray Danyluk.
Businessman Stephen Khan is the new minister of enterprise and advanced education. Former advanced education minister Greg Weadick was punted down the ladder to become associate minister to Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths.
Former Calgary school principal Christine Cusanelli takes over for the defeated Jack Hayden as Tourism minister.
Former attorney general Verlyn Olson takes over from the defeated Evan Berger in Agriculture.
Robin Campbell is Aboriginal Relations minister.
A number of ministers are keeping the jobs assigned to them last fall when Redford won the Tory leadership.
Dave Hancock remains as government house leader and the head of the sprawling Human Services Department.
The other retained ministers are: Manmeet Bhullar (Service Alberta), Cal Dallas (Intergovernmental, International Affairs) and Heather Klimchuk (Culture), Fred Horne (Health).
Frank Oberle, the former minister of Sustainable Resource Development, was bumped down to associate minister for persons with disabilities. His old department was rolled into Environment. Diana McQueen keeps that post.
George VanderBurg moves from minister of seniors to associate minister for seniors and will report to Health.
The premier plans to recall the legislature in two weeks to pick a Speaker to replace Ken Kowalski, who retired.
Tories Gene Zwozdesky and Wayne Cao, along with Laurie Blakeman of the opposition Liberals, are running for the job.
