The last miner to be rescued, Luis Urzua, left, is greeted by Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday after his rescue from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine where he had been trapped with 32 other miners for more than two months near Copiapo, Chile. The 69-day underground ordeal reached its end Wednesday night after 33 trapped miners were hauled up one by one in a cage through a narrow hole drilled through 2,000 feet of rock.

Copiapo, Chile ? As the capsule carried the first rescuer down to the 33 trapped miners, President Sebastian Pinera closed his eyes, made the sign of the cross and then smiled at Mining Minister Laurence Golborne.

The men shook hands and shared a look that said “We did it!”

And when all 33 men had been safely rescued about 23 hours later, Pinera emerged as more than just a president who oversaw a flawless rescue watched by millions worldwide.

He has become a potentially transformational figure who could change the political landscape of Chile and bring the South American nation closer to the developed status it deeply covets.

Pinera was not shy about laying out this vision moments after the first miner was pulled out.

“Chile is not the same country today as it was 69 days ago,” he said Wednesday. The nation is “more united and strong than ever and I believe that today Chile is a country more respected and valued in the entire world.”

On a national level, Pinera made good on a central campaign promise: to govern with the obsessive efficiency of a business. More important, he showed the model can work.

While always appearing in charge, Pinera empowered Chile’s most experienced mining engineers to do whatever necessary to get the job done. The team he assembled quickly brought in some of the world’s best engineers, drillers and scientists, along with powerful drilling rigs worth millions of dollars.

Like any effective CEO, Pinera delegated and then got out of the way, visiting the rescue effort only a few times before the triumphant finale.

“The instruction from President Pinera was always: Get them out using all available resources,” said Interior Ministry official Cristian Barra, who oversaw the logistics.

Pinera’s handling of the timeline was particularly artful.

Soon after the miners were discovered alive on Aug. 22, Pinera and top rescue officials repeatedly said it would take up to four months to drill deep enough to reach the men. Pinera even went so far as to say he “hoped” to have them out by Christmas.

The lengthy timeline never squared with experts’ shorter estimates or the capacity of the three drills that raced to reach the men. However, the strategy allowed Pinera to avoid unmet expectations and overdeliver in a huge way. The government has repeatedly denied claims that it manipulated the timeline, arguing that drilling is an imperfect science impossible to predict with precision. But the “Plan B” drill finally broke through to the miners on Oct. 9, a day ahead of the rescue team’s internal estimate.

By all accounts, the billionaire politician’s management of the rescue has translated into stronger support.

Only 46 percent of Chileans approved of Pinera’s government in July, according to the independent Adimark polling company. That jumped to 53 percent in September, with 74 percent agreeing that Pinera personally is capable of confronting a crisis and solving problems.

Political analysts believe polls being conducted this week will show an even bigger spike.