A title of respect for leaders of Finland, Norway and Denmark, say? (7)

I believe the answer is:

effendi

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'a title of respect' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for effendi that I've seen before include "Respected Arab" , "Turkish address now comparable to 'Mr'" , "Former Turkish title" , "Turkish title (FND!)" , "Eastern Mediterranean honorific" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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