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Born in Ia?i, she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ia?i. Starting in her student years, she began contributing essays of literary criticism to the magazines Opinia Studen?easc? (of which she became editor in chief after the Romanian Revolution, in 1991-1992) and Cronica. After 1993, she worked for the Bucharest daily Express (until 1994). She was also the Romanian correspondent for the French newspaper Le Monde (1992-1993), and was employed as a news editor by the Romanian Television Company (1997-1998). In 2000, she authored a political science textbook for optional studies in high schools.

Mungiu-Pippidi holds a doctorate in social psychology. She visited Harvard University twice, first as a Fullbright fellow in the Government Department (1994-1995), and then as Shorenstein fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (1998-1999).

In 1995, she founded Romania's largest think tank, the Romanian Academic Society (SAR), which issued several reports that were at the center of public debates (among others, they were credited with promoting steps that led Parliament to ultimately adopt legislation regarding freedom of information, flat taxation, and other approaches to Romania's accession to the European Union). Mungiu-Pippidi is currently the SAR's president. She has also created and led the "Coalition for a Clean Parliament" (Coali?ia pentru un Parlament Curat), which in the wake of the 2004 legislative elections, campaigned for candidates with reported moral problems (such as incompatibility or undergoing the investigation of judicial authorities) to be excluded from party lists (98 candidatures were withdrawn following the Coalition's campaign).

Essays

• Românii dup? '89 ("The Romanians after '89")
• Doctrine politice. Concepte universale ?i realit??i române?ti ("Political doctrines. Universal concepts and Romanian realities"), 1998
• Introducere în politologie. Manual op?ional pentru liceu. ("An introduction to politology. Optional textbook for high school"), 2000
• Romania after 2000. Threats and Challenges, 2002

Plays

Alina Mungiu-Pippidi has also written a number of plays, the most high-profile of which has been The Evangelists. The play, which was written in the 1990s, only debuted in Romania in 2005, where it sparked a considerable amount of controversy from Christian religious groups, who labeled it as "blasphemy" and "an attack against public morals". The play is based on the life of Jesus from a different point of view than that of the New Testament. Among its controversial scenes is one in which it is suggested that Mary Magdalene has oral sex with Jesus.