Mehmet Cahit Turhan was born in Trabzon, northern Turkey on 29 April 1960.

In 1981, he graduated from Karadeniz Technical University's Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture with a title B.Eng.

[1] Turhan started his working life in 1985 as an engineer at the Department of Kapıkule-Edirne Motorway of the Turkish Highways Administration (KGM)'s 17th Division.

After a brief term at this position, he was appointed a member of the Council of State on 2 October 2015.

On 10 July 2018, Turhan entered the Cabinet Erdoğan IV as the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.