Foreign articles for senior figure (5)

I believe the answer is:

elder

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

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for elder that I've seen before include "Tribal leader; tree" , "More ancient" , "one with roots" , "Tribal advisor" , "Senior tribal figure" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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