Red chief (8)
I believe the answer is:
cardinal
I believe this is a double definition.
'red' is the first definition.
(I've seen this before)
'chief' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for cardinal that I've seen before include "High-ranking official of the Roman Catholic church" , "Main point of compass - most important" , "of the highest importance" , "Key" , "Principal - churchman" .)