Jan Erik Korssjoen quits as chairman of corporate assembly of Telenor

Jan Erik Korssjoen, chairman of the corporate assembly of Telenor ASA, today informed the board of directors that he would resign after the annual general meeting of Telenor, which is slated for 16 May 2012.

Korssjoen will also resign from his duty as chairman of the Nomination Committee, a Telenor release said today.

Korssjoen 's resignation comes close on the heels of Thursday's announcement by Harald Norvik, chairman of the board of directors of Telenor ASA, of his decision to resign over, what he said, the Norwegian government's lack of confidence in him

"The reason for my resignation is that I disagree with the largest shareholder, on the decision, timing and the process leading to the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Telenor ASA," said Jan Erik Korssjoen.

The government of Norway holds majority stake in the telecom major.

Korssjoen has served as chairman of the Corporate Assembly since 2001.

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 11 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 39.5 per cent (economic stake 35.7 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 18 markets.

Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world's major mobile operators with 140 million mobile subscriptions in its consolidated operations per Q4 2011, revenues in 2011 of NOK 99 billion, and a workforce of approximately 30,000.