Crossword Genius

An officer and in command (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mandate

'command' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'an officer and in' is the wordplay.
'an officer' becomes 'mate' (mate is a kind of officer).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'mate' going around 'and' is 'MANDATE'.

(Other definitions for mandate that I've seen before include "Written authority" , "Authority conferred on a tandem" , "Authority for action" , "Authority to act" , "Authority to do something" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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