On this day in ...... 1985 (25 years ago today), Britain confirmed that it was withdrawing from UNESCO, the U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, founded in 1946, of which Britain was a charter state. The decision took effect at year's end. British charges that the organization was "'politicized'" and "anti-Western" echoed complaints that had led the United States to quit in 1984. On July 1, 1997, Britain rejoined UNESCO; the United States followed suit a few years later. Today the Paris-based organization has 193 member states.
