Zulkifli Zainal Abidin (born 30 November 1960) is a Malaysian general who served as the 20th Chief of Defence Forces.

[1] He was commissioned in the Royal Malay Regiment as a Second Lieutenant in 1978, and ever since, held various commands in the Army and Armed Forces, including as the Senior Staff Officer to the Chief of Defence Force in 2001, and Vice Chancellor of the National Defence University of Malaysia from September 2008 to May 2010, and again from June 2013 to May 2018.

[2] He also attended various courses such as the Senior Development Programme at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, holds a Master in Management from the Asian Institute of Management at Makati, Philippines, obtained an Advanced Diploma in Business and Management (Distinction) from Swansea University, University of Wales, and a diploma from the Royal College of Defence Studies (Imperial Defence College) in London.

He is married to Puan Sri Datin Seri Hajjah Rusnah binti Haji A. Rahman and the couple is blessed with four children, two sons and two daughters.

However on 20 January 2023, Zulkifli was appointed as Chief Negotiator of the South Thailand insurgency peace process, succeeding the 5th Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor who held the office for 15 years since 2008.