Richard Bergenheim

Richard Bergenheim (1948-2008) was the former editor of The Christian Science Monitor, and President of the The First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Bergenheim was Editor of the Monitor during the kidnapping of correspondent Jill Carroll in Baghdad by insurgents in January 2006. Bergenheim, who served as editor for three years, worked with FBI agents and other officials for Carroll's release. She was held for almost three months, and her Iraqi interpreter, Allan Enwiyah, was killed during her abduction.

Carroll had been a freelancer at the time of her capture, and Mr. Bergenheim had immediately placed her on staff so she could receive benefits. When Carroll returned to the United States in April 2006, Mr. Bergenheim was one of the first to greet her with a hug at Logan Airport.

As editor, Bergenheim also forged the Monitor's future on the Internet. His successor was John Yemma. Bergenheim, who was a member of the church's Board of Directors from 1992 to 1994, came from a publishing family.

His father, Robert C. Bergenheim, founded the Boston Business Journal and was publisher of the Boston Herald American. The elder Bergenheim had covered Boston City Hall for the Monitor in the 1950s and was later manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society.

External links

* [http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/07/22/richard_bergenheim_former_editor_of_christian_science_monitor_at_60/ Boston Globe obituary]