The Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Noel Waters is set to retire next February.
The news was confirmed in a statement from the Department of Justice and Equality:
"The Secretary General notified the Minister formally yesterday that, as he will have shortly served for 40 years, he intends to retire in February. This was noted as a matter of routine at today's Government meeting."
Mr Waters had been acting Secretary General of the department since October 2014.
He was appointed to the position on a permanent basis in October 2016.