Dato' Ser Mohamed Azmin Ali was born on 25 August 1964 in Singapore (then a state of Malaysia) to Ali and Che Tom Yahaya. He began his education at Gurney Road Primary School, then Setapak High School, and ended it at Jalan Cheras Technical Institute. He received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Mathematics (1986) and Master of Education's degree (MEd) (1987) from the University of Minnesota. He also attended an executive training programme at the University of Oxford.

He is now the Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia. He also serve as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gombak and Member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Bukit Antarabangsa since March 2008.