Timely joke reflecting real life with leader being deposed (8)
I believe the answer is:
punctual
'timely' is the definition.
('punctual' can be similar in meaning to 'timely')
'joke reflecting real life with leader being deposed' is the wordplay.
'joke' becomes 'pun' (punning is a kind of joking).
'reflecting real life' becomes 'actual'.
'with leader being deposed' means to remove the first letter.
'actual' with its first letter taken away is 'ctual'.
'pun'+'ctual'='PUNCTUAL'
(Other definitions for punctual that I've seen before include "Arriving on time" , "Always on time for appointments" , "Happening at the agreed time" , "Exactly on time" , "Bang on time" .)