İstemihan Talay was born to İbrahim Rifat and Emine in Tarsus ilçe (district) of Mersin Province in 1945.
[1] He completed Tarsus American College in 1964, and studied in the Faculty of Political Sciences in Ankara University.
After obtaining a master's degree in Public Administration, he began working as a civil servant.
He joined the Republican People's Party (CHP) when it was reestablished mainly by the members of the SHP on 16 September 1992.
In the general election held on 24 December 1995, however, he joined the Democratic Left Party (DSP) as deputy of Mersin Province.