Christopher S. Wren, Times Bureau Chief in Hostile Lands, Dies at 89

Christopher S. Wren, a longtime foreign correspondent who reported from countries often hostile to Westerners — notably the Soviet Union, China and Iran — died on Sunday at his home in Thetford, Vt. He was 89. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Celia Wren.

Mr. Wren joined The Times as a metropolitan reporter in 1973 after nearly a decade at Look magazine and drew on Russian language study at Dartmouth to win a posting to the Moscow bureau within nine months. Over a 28-year career he served as bureau chief in Moscow (1974–77), Cairo (1977–80), Beijing (1981–84) and Johannesburg (1988–92), and covered major events including Anwar el‑Sadat’s 1977 trip to Israel, the Iran hostage crisis, Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990 and wars in Africa and the Balkans.

In 1974, while climbing Lenin Peak with American mountaineers, he and his team discovered the remains of an all‑female Soviet climbing expedition, a story the Soviet authorities had suppressed. Born Feb. 22, 1936, in Hollywood to actor parents, Mr.

United States, Thetford, Vermont

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