[5] He was made adjutant general of the Egyptian Army in early 1901 and commanding officer (CO) of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards in 1904 before being placed on half-pay in July 1907.

[16] Fergusson, promoted to lieutenant general,[17] then returned to the United Kingdom and briefly took command of the 9th (Scottish) Division, a newly created Kitchener's Army formation, from October to December 1914.

[5] A year after an unsuccessful attempt to enter parliament through the South Ayrshire constituency in the 1923 general election,[21] Fergusson was appointed Governor-General of New Zealand and served until 1930.

[5] His father, Sir James Fergusson, had served as a Governor of New Zealand, and his son Lord Ballantrae was the tenth and last British-appointed governor-general.

[23] After his term in New Zealand, Fergusson became chairman of the West Indies Closer Union Commission and was Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire from 1937 until his death on 20 February 1951.