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Labour Party minister Dover Samuels is understood to be close to resigning his ministerial portfolios to shift to the back bench.
In a move that would clear a path for the promotion of a fresh Labour face, Mr Samuels is expected to step down and see out this electoral term in a lesser role.
The colourful list MP, who turns 68 in July, has regularly featured in speculation about who might make way to help Labour rejuvenate its parliamentary ranks.
Mr Samuels would not comment about his future yesterday. But he is understood to be keen to see a Maori MP replace him in Labour's top brass - a common desire when a Maori MP moves on.
A frontrunner for promotion is first-term MP Shane Jones who, like Mr Samuels, hails from Northland.
But Mr Jones, a Maori and business leader long tipped as being on the fast-track to promotion, faces competition from fellow first-term Labour list MP Maryan Street.
Ms Street is also seen as a future star and the pair are expected to leapfrog several other longer-serving Labour MPs - who will be doing their own lobbying.
Suggestions of Mr Samuels' exit from the Executive have come soon after Prime Minister Helen Clark again indicated she wanted to freshen the party ranks before next year's election.
Labour has already farewelled former Cabinet minister Jim Sutton,who was replaced by lawyer Charles Chauvel. Georgina Beyer will be farewelled next week and Marian Hobbs does not plan to stand again next year.
Southland union organiser Lesley Soper will replace Georgina Beyer, and should Mr Samuels decide to leave Parliament altogether, then Louisa Wall is next in line on Labour's party list to enter Parliament.
Another on the way out - although maybe not immediately - is Mangere MP Taito Phillip Field, who is understood to have been told directly that he is unlikely to be selected as a Labour candidate at the next election.
Some long-serving Labour MPs were upset by Helen Clark's indications after the 2005 election that she wanted change.
The Prime Minister has now moved to focus on improving Labour's list as a way of rejuvenating the party.
She has said she wants a "better" list and has signalled that some current MPs won't necessarily have the same high places they enjoyed in the past.
On Wednesday she said the main renewal would happen at the time of the next general election.
"I think the best thing is to be planning the renewal around the selection process," she said.
Mr Samuels entered Parliament nearly 11 years ago. His political career has included a stint as Maori Affairs Minister.
Well known for regularly sporting an Akubra hat, Mr Samuels' association with the Labour Party extends even further back - he spent 14 years as Maori senior vice-president.
He has also had his share of controversy, and was sacked from the Maori Affairs portfolio in 2000 after Helen Clark took the view that he could not be effective in his job while allegations of sexual misconduct swirled around him.
Mr Samuels was later cleared and rehabilitated back into Labour's top ranks.
Dover Samuels
* Minister outside Cabinet.
* Minister of State.
* Associate Minister for Economic Development.
* Associate Minister for Industry and Regional Development.
* Associate Minister of Housing.
* Associate Minister of Tourism.
