Carl Tessin was the son of the architect and court superintendent Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. He was educated in France and Italy and in the 1720s entered the Swedish diplomatic service. In 1728 he succeeded his father as court superintendent and took charge of the construction of the new Royal Palace in Stockholm. He had a great influence on the fine arts and introduced French Rococo in Sweden.

A founder of the anti-Russian Hat Party, he wanted to regain the provinces lost to Russia during the Great Northern War (1700–21). In 1738 he was elected marshal of the Riksdag (parliament). Tessin's greatest achievement as marshal was his success in freeing Sweden from the dependence of Russia; however, he could not prevent a disastrous war with Russia in 1741.

In 1744 he gained the favour of the future king Adolf Frederick (reigned 1751–71) and his wife Louisa Ulrica; he persuaded Adolf to renounce his hereditary claims in Schleswig and Holstein and thus eased Sweden's relations with Denmark. In 1746 he was appointed tutor to the future king Gustav III and head of the state chancellery. In the early 1750s, however, he lost the Queen's favour and left public life. Tessin was also an accomplished poet and writer of fables and letters.