Matan Vilnai
| Matan Vilnai | |
|---|---|
Vilnai in March 2001
|
|
| Date of birth | 20 May 1944 |
| Place of birth | Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
| Knessets | 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| Faction represented in Knesset | |
| 1999 | One Israel |
| 2003–2011 | Labor Party |
| 2011–2012 | Independence |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 1999–2002 | Minister of Science, Culture & Sport |
| 2005 | Minister in the Prime Minister's Office |
| 2005 | Minister of Science and Technology |
| 2011–2012 | Minister for Home Front Defense |
| Other roles | |
| 2012– | Ambassador to China |
Matan Vilnai (Hebrew: מַתָּן וִילְנַּאִי; born 20 May 1944) is an Israeli politician and a former Major General in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A former Knesset member and government minister, he was appointed ambassador to China in 2012.
Matan Vilnai was born in Jerusalem. His father was Prof. Zev Vilnay, a pioneer in the sphere of Israeli geography and Land of Israel studies, from whom he inherited a love of nature and hiking. Matan graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in 1962 and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the Paratroopers Brigade and the elite reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal.
Vilnai lives in Mevasseret Zion and is a married with three children.
Vilnai was deputy commander [1] of the assault force in Operation Thunderbolt, also known as the Entebbe Raid, to free Jewish and Israeli passengers taken hostage by Palestinian and German terrorists after their Air France plane was hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda. Vilnai led the assault team into the airport building, while another team secured the outside. As a major general, Vilnai was the head of the Manpower Directorate, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff.
In the run up to the 1999 elections Vilnai joined the Labor Party (which was running as part of the One Israel alliance), and won a place on its Knesset list. Ehud Barak appointed him Minister of Science, Culture and Sport. Vilnai gave up his Knesset seat six months after the election (he was replaced by Colette Avital), but remained a minister. After Ariel Sharon beat Barak in the 2001 election for Prime Minister, Vilnai was reappointed to his post in the new government.
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