[4] He entered cabinet on August 20, 1982, serving as Minister of Government Services with responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone Act.
[1] The Manitoba NDP were defeated in parliament in early 1988, when disgruntled backbench Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jim Walding voted against his government's budget.
[4] The NDP were reduced to 12 seats (out of 57) and third-party status following this election; Plohman formally resigned his cabinet portfolio on May 9 when the new government was sworn into office.
In 2002, Plohman was appointed to a provincial advisory board recommending ways to stimulate economic growth at the Port of Churchill, in northern Manitoba.
In 2005, Plohman was appointed as the first Chairman of the Board of the newly formed Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation (MASC).