Born in Ladle Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Beaton Tulk resides in Musgravetown with his wife, Dora. He graduated from Memorial University with bachelor of arts, bachelor of education, and master’s of educational administration degrees. He also later obtained a Canadian securities investment diploma. Beaton was a supervising principal for the Carmanville school system from 1974 to 1979. He was first elected to the Newfoundland House of Assembly in 1979 as the Liberal Party member for Fogo and was re-elected in 1982 and 1985. While in provincial politics, he served as deputy minister of Children and Youth Services, and later minister of both Forest Resources and Agrifoods and the Department of Development and Rural Renewal. In 2000, he became the seventh premier of Newfoundland and Labrador when his predecessor, Brian Tobin, left provincial politics to run federally.