Yair Golan (born 14 May 1962) is an Israeli politician, reserve major general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and leader of the Democrats party. He served 38 years in the IDF, rising to the rank of Deputy Chief of the General Staff before his discharge and retirement. Drafted into the IDF in 1980, Golan passed the flight academy acceptance tests but chose to volunteer for the paratrooper brigade, following his brother's path. He served as a soldier and squad leader, fighting in the 1982 Lebanon War. In his political career, Golan became a Knesset member, initially representing the Meretz party, and served as Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry in Israel's thirty-sixth government starting in July 2021, responsible for areas including safety in construction, cooperatives, emergency preparedness, and industrial improvements. He is known as a protest leader with adversarial relations to Benjamin Netanyahu and for criticizing the conduct of the Gaza war.