The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 1999.

Drayton Nabers, Jr. was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 2, 1940, the son of Drayton Nabers and June Porter Nabers.

Mr. Nabers attended elementary school and high school in Birmingham. In 1962, he received an A.B. degree from Princeton University, and in 1965, an LL.B. degree from Yale School of Law. After graduating from Yale, Mr. Nabers served as a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. In 1967, he became associated with the law firm of Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas, and O'Neal, and became a partner in the firm in 1971. In 1979 Mr. Nabers joined Protective Life Corporation, rising to Chief Executive Officer in 1992, a position he still holds.

Drayton Nabers, Jr. is acknowledged within the life insurance industry as one of its ablest and most respected CEOs. Protective Life, under his leadership, consistently ranks within the top 10% in profitability and growth. Mr. Nabers has served as a director of the American Council of Life Insurance and is the first person from Alabama to be designated to become its chairman. In addition to his association with Protective Life Corporation, he has served as a director of Energen Corporation, Alabama National BanCorporation, and the National Bank of Commerce.

Mr. Nabors is also involved in many civic organizations. He has served as a trustee for the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce and as a director of the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army. He has served on the University of Alabama at Birmingham President's Council, the Advisory Council for the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, and on the Executive Committee of the Alabama Region of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He is a member of the Birmingham, Alabama, and American Bar Associations, and of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham.

Mr. Nabers is married to Fairfax Smathers Nabers, and they have three children, Drayton Nabers, III, Mary Nabers Doyle, and Fairfax Virginia Nabers.