He was the youngest son of a Swedish Colonel Gustav Friedrich Adlerberg (1738-1794) by his second wife, Baltic-German, Anna Charlotta Juliana von Baggehufwudt (1760-1839).

Sources are unclear whether he was born in Vyborg or Saint Petersburg, but it is certain that he entered the military in 1811 as an officer in the Lithuanian Guard Infantry Regiment, with which he campaigned in 1812 and 1814.

In 1817 he became adjutant and confidant to Grand Duke Nicholas, who he supported during the Decembrist uprising on 14 December 1825 and on whose staff he served as a major general during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828.

In 1843 he was promoted to General of the Infantry, then four years later he was made a count, finally becoming Minister of the Imperial Court and chancellor of the orders in 1852.

In 1870, aged 79, he retired from public office, succeeded as minister by his eldest son Alexander, count Adlerberg II.