| Minister Date of Birth: 20.05.1944 Country: Israel |
Matan Vilnai was born in Jerusalem in 1944. His father, Professor Ze'ev Vilnai, was a pioneer in Israeli geography, instilling in his son a love for nature and exploration. Vilnai joined a military boarding school near Haifa in high school and continued his education through the Israeli army. He holds a bachelor's degree in history and studied at Harvard's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Vilnai was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1962 and volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade. He participated in anti-terrorist operations and was severely wounded in November 1966. After recovering in 1971, he was appointed commander of the Paratroopers Brigade's reconnaissance battalion. In 1975, he became the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade.
During Operation Entebbe in 1976, Vilnai served as deputy commander of the IDF's airborne rescue mission to free hostages from a hijacked Air France plane in Uganda. He led the assault team that stormed the airport terminal while a second team operated externally.
In December 1985, Vilnai was promoted to Major General (Aluf) and became the Head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate. He was appointed Commander of the IDF's Southern Command in July 1989, where he oversaw the fight against terrorism in the Gaza Strip during the First Intifada until the Oslo Accords were signed. In November 1994, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF under Amnon Lipkin-Shahak.
In 1999, Vilnai joined the Labor Party, which formed an electoral alliance with Gesher and Meimad. He was elected to the 15th Knesset and appointed Minister of Science, Culture, and Sports in Ehud Barak's government. He resigned from the Knesset after six months (replaced by Colette Avital) but remained in his ministerial position. Vilnai retained his post when the government changed in 2001.
In the 2003 elections, Vilnai was second on Labor's list but lost his ministerial position when the ruling coalition formed by Ariel Sharon excluded Labor. However, after several parties left the coalition over the unilateral disengagement plan, Labor joined the coalition in 2005. Vilnai initially became a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office but became acting Minister of Science and Technology in August and Minister in November.
In 2006, Vilnai unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of Labor against Shimon Peres and Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. He was elected to the Knesset, placed 11th on Labor's list. After Ehud Barak took over the party's leadership in 2007, he appointed Vilnai Deputy Defense Minister in the 31st government. His responsibilities included coordinating civil defense and reserve service. In this role, Vilnai passed legislation on reserve service and established the National Emergency Service.
Vilnai retained his post in the 2009 elections, being placed 6th on Labor's list. In 2011, he was one of five Labor Party members who resigned to form a new party called Atzmaut. He was appointed to the newly created position of Minister of Home Front Defense, although he was initially expected to become Minister of Minority Affairs.
On February 7, 2012, Vilnai was appointed Ambassador to China. He held this position until January 2017.
Vilnai resides in the central Israel moshav Shoresh. He is married with three children.