Murat Yılmaz was born in Istanbul in 1974. He is originally from Ordu, Mesudiye. He graduated from the Department of History at Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters, and completed his master’s degree in International Relations and Globalization.

In 1994, he was among the founding members of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). He is married and has one daughter.

Since March 2021, he has been serving as the President of the Orphans Foundation (Yetim Vakfı).