Governess holding a ring for ideological leader (9)
I believe the answer is:
ayatollah
'ideological leader' is the definition.
'ayatollah' can be an answer for 'leader' (I have seen 'Muslim leader ' mean 'ayatollah' so perhaps 'leader' could also mean 'ayatollah'). I am not certain of the 'ideological' bit.
'governess holding a ring' is the wordplay.
'governess' becomes 'ayah' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'holding' indicates putting letters inside.
'ring' becomes 'toll' (ring a bell).
'a'+'toll'='atoll'
'ayah' going around 'atoll' is 'AYATOLLAH'.
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ayatollah that I've seen before include "Shiite leader, possibly in 10 across" , "High-ranking Shiite religious leader" , "Religious high-up" , "religious authority" , "Senior Iranian cleric" .)