Alan B. Mollohan was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, on May 14, 1943, to Robert H. and Helen Holt Mollohan. A graduate of Greenbrier Military School, the College of William and Mary, and West Virginia University's College of Law, he began his legal career in 1970 with a Fairmont firm.

In 1976 he married Glenville native Barbara Whiting, who was working as a speech therapist in the Ohio County schools system. They are the parents of four sons and one daughter.

Mollohan was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1983, and has served in each successive Congress.

His top priority is economic development in the First District. He works to defend its traditional industries against unfair attacks and to diversify its base through high-tech, aerospace and government-service activities.