MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - Mobile TeleSystems [RTS: MTSS] shareholders voted Thursday to replace the company president, Russia's largest mobile phone operator said in a news release.

Shareholders confirmed a board of directors decision on April 13 to replace Vasily Sidorov with Leonid Melamed, 39, a former president of leading insurance company Rosno. Melamed has been MTS acting president since April 14.

"We welcome MTS shareholders' decision to approve Leonid Melamed as company president," Sergei Shcherbatov, chairman of the board of directors, is quoted as saying in the release. "As Chairman of the MTS Board of Directors, I am positive Leonid Melamed will use his experience as company executive and his leadership qualities to the best advantage [of the company]."

Vladimir Yevtushenkov, board chairman of AFK Sistema [RTS ticker: AFKS], MTS' core shareholder with 52.8% shares and a 49% stake in Rosno, said in April that shareholders were unhappy with last year's capitalization growth rate of 5% given that rival VimpelCom posted a figure of 50%.

Yevtushenkov said the main job for the company's new president was to turn MTS into a global enterprise and raise capitalization to more than $20 billion from $16 billion reported by ex-President Sidorov.

On Thursday, MTS reported a 20.7% year-on-year decline in net profit for January-March 2006, to $184.4 million.

MTS posted a U.S. GAAP net profit of $1.13 billion in 2005, a 14% increase on 2004.

Melamed also headed an expert board within a committee on credit organizations and financial markets in the lower house of parliament.