He was son of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford and succeeded to the earldom in 1737. He was a
Scottish representative peer from 1739 and
sheriff of
Lanark from 1739,
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1739 and 1740. He was appointed a
Knight of the Thistle in 1742 and a
Privy Counsellor in 1750. He was
Vice Admiral of Scotland from 1764 to 1767. He was envoy to
Prussia from 1741 to 1742, to
Russia from 1744 to 1749 and to
Vienna from 1752 to 1764. He was succeeded by John Carmichael, the son of his uncle, William Carmichael of Skirling. ==References==