Oslo - Norwegian aluminium group Norsk Hydro chief executive Eivind Reiten announced Monday he would step down at the end of March saying he was fulfilling his own time line for his departure.

Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, 51, head of Hydro's aluminium products business, was to succeed Reiten as of March 30.

Reiten, 55, joined Hydro in 1986 and was named chief executive in May 2001.

"I have always considered seven to eight years as an appropriate horizon for my time as head of Hydro," Reiten said in a statement.

During Reiten's tenure the group underwent several shake-ups and in October 2007 combined its gas and oil business with Norwegian rival Statoil to focus on aluminium and power generation activities.

Norsk Hydro has about 23,000 employees and activities in some 40 countries. The Norwegian state is majority owner.

Before joining Hydro, Reiten was a member of government and served as oil and energy minister, fisheries minister, and undersecretary in the finance ministry.

After Hydro combined with Statoil, Reiten was named board chairman of the merged Statoil Hydro group but resigned after a few days over an investigation into payments from Norsk Hydro to a consultancy company in connection with an oil deal in Libya in 1999. (dpa)