Sutherland was born as William Gordon, the eldest surviving son of
William Gordon, Lord Strathnaver and his wife Catherine Morrison, daughter of William Morrison, MP, of Preston-grange, Haddington. His father died in 1720 and he succeeded his elder brother on 12 December 1720. He undertook a grand tour in France and Hanover from 1726 to 1727. At the
1727 British general election Sutherland was put up by his grandfather for the constituency of
Sutherland at the age of 18. There existed a resolution that the eldest sons of peers of Scotland should not sit in the House of Commons and his grandfather expressed the hope to the Duke of Argyll that this would not be invoked because Sutherland was a grandson, and not a son. He was returned as
Member of Parliament without difficulty. In 1730 he claimed repayment for arms surrendered to the Government, under the
Act for disarming the Highlands, but his claim was deferred because some of his receipts for arms appeared very suspicious. He voted with the Administration on the
Hessians in 1730 and on the
Excise Bill in 1733. When he succeeded his grandfather
John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland as 17th Earl of Sutherland on 27 June 1733, he was said to have made a deal with Walpole and Ilay by which, he would vote for the court list of representative peers, provided he was made one of them himself, which transpired in 1734. He was also appointed a lord of police in Scotland at £800 p.a., and granted a pension of £1,200 p.a He vacated his seat in the House of Commons. In 1744, he was promoted to be first lord of police. ==Jacobite rising of 1745==