In our commission the vice-president (VP) becomes the president, and a new VP is chosen from members of the Organizing Committee. The position of secretary was discontinued and its responsibilities incorporated into the VP position. The president announced that the new officers are Steven R. Federman (president) and Glenn M. Wahlgren (vice-president).

On Tuesday 22 August 2006 approximately 40 people attended the Commission 41 History of Astronomy Business Meeting at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague. Commission president Alex Gurshtein opened the meeting, welcoming the commission members and calling for a moment of silence for those members who passed away in the last triennium. David DeVorkin was appointed recording secretary for the meeting, with Steven Dick as the scruitineer of the ballot. A moment of silence was then observed in the memory of members departed over the last triennium, including: Jerzy Dobrzycki (Poland), Robert Duncan (Australia), Mohammad Edalati (Iran), Philip Morrison (USA), John Perdix (Australia), Neil Porter (Ireland), Gibson Reaves (USA), Brian Robinson (Australia), and Raymond E. White (USA).

The Working Group Historical Instruments (WG-HI) was founded by the members of Commission 41 at the 2000 Manchester IAU XXIV General Assembly, with the main objectives to assemble a bibliography of existing publications relating to such instruments, and to encourage colleagues to carry out research and publish their results. Membership of the WG-HI has increased from three to nine people since its foundation. This clearly demonstrates the IAU members increasing interest in safeguarding old astronomical instruments and buildings as witness to their own country's cultural heritage and scientific progress.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1922 to “promote and safeguard astronomy . . . and to develop it through international co-operation”. The IAU is funded through its National Members. Almost all of the funds supplied from the dues are used for the development of astronomy.

The Program Group for the World-wide Development of Astronomy (PG-WWDA) is one of nine Commission 46 program groups engaged with various aspects of astronomical education or development of astronomy education and research in the developing world. In the case of PG-WWDA, its goals are to promote astronomy education and research in the developing world through a variety of activities, including visiting astronomers in developing countries and interacting with them by way of giving encouragement and support.

The programme International Schools for Young Astronomers, hereafter named ISYA, is organized by IAU COMMISSION 46 on Astronomy Education & Development since 1967. We present here a brief history of the development of this programme since its creation till 2006. Much more data can be found in the Transactions of the IAU, either Vol. A or B, as well as in two papers published in proceedings of meetings; the references of these publications are given at the end of this report.

At the IAU XXV General Assembly in Sydney, 2003, a questionnaire on the perception of participation of “young astronomers” at IAU meeting was distributed. Following the conclusions from the analysis of this questionnaire, the IAU EC recommended in 2004 that the “young astronomers” concept at the next GA in Prague should be worked out with specific activities.

The second Women in Astronomy Lunchtime Meeting was held on Monday 21 August 2006, with more than 250 participants. The meeting was hosted by the EC Working Group for Women in Astronomy, established at the 2003 IAU General Assembly, and was attended by the current President, the Presidents-Elect for this and the next General Assembly, the General Secretary and Vice-Presidents, many senior astronomers, as well as students and young astronomers. It was a particular pleasure to welcome and congratulate the incoming President, Dr Catherine Cesarsky, the first woman to hold the position.

The current Statutes and Bye-Laws were extensively re-written and approved at the Sydney GA in 2003 in order to streamline many of the processes of the IAU and to bring the IAU more into conformity with the structure of other ICSU unions. These revision have generally been well received, however there have been several changes to the Statutes and Bye-Laws that Individual Members and National Members have deemed desirable in the past three years and which have been brought to the attention of the EC.

The International Astronomical Union (referred to as the Union) is an international non-governmental organization. Its objective is to promote the science of astronomy in all its aspects.

1. An application for admission to the Union as a National Member shall be submitted to the General Secretary by the proposing organization at least eight months before the next ordinary General Assembly.

The Statutes of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) define the goals and organizational structure of the Union, while the Bye-Laws specify the main tasks of the various bodies of the Union in implementing the provisions of the Statutes. The Working Rules are designed to assist the membership and governing bodies of the Union in carrying out these tasks in an appropriate and effective manner. Each of the sections below is preceded by an introduction outlining the goals to be accomplished by the procedures specified in the succeeding paragraphs. The Executive Committee updates the Working Rules as necessary to reflect current procedures and to optimize the services of the IAU to its membership.

The program of IAU scientific meetings is one of the most important means by which the IAU pursues its goal of promoting astronomy through international collaboration. A large fraction of the Union's budget is devoted to the support of the IAU scientific meetings. The Executive Committee (EC) places great emphasis on maintaining high scientific standards, coverage of a balanced spectrum of topics, and an appropriately international flavor for the programme of IAU Meetings. In that respect, the ICSU rules on non-discrimination in the access of qualified scientists from all parts of the world to any IAU meeting apply.

As a result of the triennial reviews by the IAU Division presidents of their Commissions and Working Groups (Bye-Laws § V), the following structural changes have been proposed and approved by the Executive Committee.

Aleksander Brzezinski, P-C19 (Poland), Joseph A. Burns, P-C7 (USA), Pascale Defraigne, P-C31 (Belgium), Dafydd Wyn Evans, VP-C8 (UK) Toshio Fukushima, P-C4, PP (Japan), George H. Kaplan, VP-C4 (USA), Sergei A. Klioner, P-C52 (Germany), Zoran Knezevic, VP-C7 (Serbia) Irina I. Kumkova, P-C8 (Russia), Chopo Ma, VP-C19 (USA), Richard N. Manchester, VP-C31 (Australia), and Gérard Petit, VP-C52 (France)

This chapter lists the Adhering Organizations of the 63 National Members of the International Astronomical Union. As of September 2008, the IAU had 7 members with Interim status, 21 members in Category I, 10 members in Category II, 11 members in Category III, 3 members in Category IV, 4 members in Category V, 1 member in Category VI, 5 members in Category VII, and 1 member in Category X.

A full alphabetical list of IAU members is available online as “Supplementary data” on Cambridge Journals Online: http://www.journals.cup.org/S1743921308024435