He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1982 until 1985, representing the electorate of Sandringham.
Ihlein was born in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, and attended Yagoona State School.
His family later moved to Victoria, where he attended Morwell High School and studied law at Monash University.
Ihlein campaigned for eighteen months prior to the election, and focused heavily on retaining the Sandringham railway line, which had been threatened with closure under a report made for the previous government.
The campaign proved to be successful, with Ihlein winning a narrow victory as the Cain Labor government won office statewide.