Until now, Butler has probably been best known by some for twice considering running for the leadership of his party, only to withdraw from it at the last minute.
His name was being flouted as a possible successor as soon as Nesbitt resigned on Tuesday night, and on this occasion he has chosen to take up the call.
As a former firefighter-turned-politician he may have experience in putting out fires, but doing so in one of the most difficult Stormont departments will be new territory for him.
While he’s been an MLA since 2016, he has never held a ministerial job before.
As an effective caretaker minister in the seven months left of the assembly term before the next election, he will have to quickly get to grips with a massive in-tray.
He will also face questions about how he intends to manage relations with the party leader Burrows, given the events of this week.
One Ulster Unionist source said while the job was only for a matter of months, other parties could “set a target on his back” and make life difficult for him.
His decision to step into the job may help further boost his Lagan Valley profile in the run-up to next May’s assembly poll, which is shaping up to be an interesting constituency battle.
But being health minister is hard enough when you have experience of the brief and a budget to work with.
Butler, at the moment, has neither of those.