After greeting, a lessee is running for emperor, formerly (5,8)
I believe the answer is:
haile selassie
'emperor formerly' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'after greeting a lessee is running' is the wordplay.
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'greeting' becomes 'hail' ('hail' is a greeting).
'running' indicates an anagram (the letters run around to different places).
'a'+'lessee'+'is'='alesseeis'
'alesseeis' is an anagram of 'eselassie'.
'hail' next to 'eselassie' is 'HAILE SELASSIE'.
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for haile selassie that I've seen before include "Leader revered in Ethiopia" , "Emperor of Ethiopia, deposed 1974" , "African emperor" , "Ethiopian emperor" , "The Rastafarian Messiah" .)