The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ISRAELI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
I
S
R
A
E
L
I
More clues leading to the result ISRAELI
- National serial circulated around island
- Jew, possibly, lives with artist and priest
- Someone in acre with capital?
- Ariel’s possibly one
- Asian serial I broadcast
- Middle-Easterner lives with painter and priest
- National football team maintaining king's backing
- Middle Eastern air's affected priest
- National leader’s deposed by Tory statesman
- Foreigner former PM initially dismissed
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Begin, for example, as prime minister?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case begin, for example, as prime minister? = israeli.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.