Crossword Genius

Whip loses the head boring secretary of old Eastern official (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pasha

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'official' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Turkish official' mean 'pasha' so perhaps 'official' could also mean 'pasha')

'whip loses the head boring secretary of old eastern' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'secretary' could be 'pa' (abbreviation for personal assistant) and 'pa' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sha' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pasha that I've seen before include "High-ranking Turkish officer" , "Muslim dignitary" , "Former provincial governor in Egypt" , "Turkish high-ranker" , "Ottoman governor" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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