A former Member of Knesset on behalf of the Meretz-Yachad party since 1999, Avshalom Vilan has served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Violence in Sports and of the Lobby for Public Persons as Role Models. He was a member of the Knesset State Control Committee. He is a veteran peace activist, and was co-founder of Peace Now. A resident of Kibbutz Negba, Vilan has filled several key positions in the Kibbutz Artzi Federation of Kibbutzim, most recently General Secretary of the federation (1996-1999). He also served as an emissary for Kibbutz Artzi and HaShomer Hatzair in North America (1993-1996). In 1988, he served as campaign manager for Mapam, Israel's democratic socialist party, and in 1992 he co-directed the elections campaign for Meretz, a party formed by a coalition of Mapam, Ratz and Shinui.

Vilan holds a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.