* Vanjoki to leave executive board Oct 12
* CEO Elop to take over his duties in acting role
* Vanjoki to stay at Nokia until March 11, 2011
(Adds Vanjoki leaving date, background)
HELSINKI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj's new Chief Executive Stephen Elop will take over the duties of Anssi Vanjoki, head of its key Mobile Solutions unit, as of next week, the company said on Friday.
Vanjoki, who joined Nokia in 1991 and has been head of Mobile Solutions since 2008, resigned last month after the company's board picked outsider Elop over him to lead the Finnish handset maker.
Elop will run the unit which combines smartphones and services until the new chief for the unit is appointed, a spokesman said.
Vanjoki's last day at Nokia will be March 11, 2011, the spokesman said.
Vanjoki played a key role at Nokia over his 19 years at the company. He created the brand from scratch in the 1990s and turned it into one of the biggest global names.
He was also behind picking the Nokia tune -- the world's most widely used piece of music.
From 2004 Vanjoki lead Nokia's profitable multimedia business unit and introduced the N-series range of smartphones, which controlled the market well into 2008 when Apple Inc's iPhone started to take off. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Mike Nesbit and David Holmes)