Commission 8 has regularly published triennial reports in the past and the current OC therefore voted to adopt a traditional format also for this special Legacy issue of the IAU Transactions. The outgoing President is grateful for the support of many Commission members who contributed to this report. Our contribution consists of 3 parts: 1) this introduction, providing a general overview and highlights of recent research in astrometry, 2) a summary of the astrometry business and science meeting at the 2015 IAU General Assembly, and 3) the activity report of our Commisson covering the mid-2012 to mid-2015 period.