Country I was the leader of (4)

I believe the answer is:

iran

'country' is the definition.
(Iran is a country)

'i was the leader of' is the wordplay.
'was the leader of' becomes 'ran' (run can mean to organise or lead).
'i'+'ran'='IRAN'

(Other definitions for iran that I've seen before include "Modern name for Persia" , "Formerly Persia" , "Nation" , "Tehran's country" , "Country where ayatollahs replaced a shah" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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