Matan Vilnai (Hebrew: מתן וילנאי‎, born 20 May 1944) is an Israeli politician and a former Major General in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He is currently Deputy Defense Minister and a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party.

Vilnai was born in Jerusalem in 1944. His father was Prof. Ze'ev Vilnai, a pioneer in the sphere of Israeli geography and Land of Israel studies, from whom he inherited a love of nature and hiking. He was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1966, serving in the Paratroopers Brigade and the elite reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal. He took part 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. As a major general, Vilnai was the head of the Manpower Directorate, as well as the Deputy Chief of Staff.

Today Vilnai lives in Mevaseret Zion and is a married father of three.