William J. Cabaniss, Jr. has had successful careers in business, public service, and community affairs, including serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Ambassador Cabaniss was born in Birmingham, the son of William Jelks Cabaniss and Florence Pierson Sanson Cabaniss. He attended The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he graduated in 1956 and then enrolled at Vanderbilt University.
After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1960, Ambassador Cabaniss entered the United States Army, having received his commission as a second lieutenant through the U.S.
Army ROTC program. On active duty, he served as an Airborne Ranger first lieutenant. In 1964, after a three-year tour of duty in Germany, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. After his service in the armed forces, Ambassador Cabaniss returned to his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, where he began his business career with the Southern Cement Company Division of Martin Marietta Corporation.
In 1971, he resigned from his position as director of market development with Southern Cement and acquired the assets of a small metal grinding company. Since then, he has built Precision Grinding, Inc. into a successful steel plate processing and metal machining business.
Ambassador Cabaniss ran for public office in 1978 and served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1978 to 1982 and the Alabama State Senate from 1982 to 1990.
Ambassador Cabaniss has been a leader in the Birmingham business community, having served on the Boards of Directors of the following publicly-held companies: AmSouth Banlc, Birmingham Steel Corporation, the Southern Company, and Protective Life Corporation. He served on the Metropolitan Development Board and was past chairman; served on the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers; and previously served on the Board of the Southern Research Institute. He has held
membership in the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Alabama, Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, and the National Tooling and Machining Association. In 2002, Mr. Cabaniss received the Distinguished Builders of Birmingham Award.
He was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic by Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington, DC on December 9, 2003. He arrived in Prague on January 9, 2004, and presented his credentials to President Vaclav Klaus on January 13, 2004. In community affairs, Ambassador Cabaniss has served on the following Boards: A+ (The Coalition for Better Education), Kings Ranch (a residential ministry for neglected women and children), and the Boy Scouts. He previously served as Board Chairman of Junior Achievement of Jefferson County and is a current member of the Birmingham Rotary
Club where he has served on the Board. He also led the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of United Way in the 2000 campaign; previously served on the Board of Trustees of Sweet Briar College; and is past Senior Warden of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Ambassador Cabaniss received the Community Service Award from the Rotary Club of Birmingham in 1993. In August 2004, Ambassador Cabaniss was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor.
Ambassador Cabaniss and his wife Catherine, an artist, have two daughters, Mary Cabaniss Ballard of Seattle and Frances Cabaniss Johnson of Mobile, and two grandchildren.
