The phrase "a leading official" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to a prominent or high-ranking individual within an organization or government.
Example: "The conference was attended by a leading official from the Ministry of Health, who discussed the new policies."
Alternatives: "a senior official" or "a top official".
Before then, Dr. Patriarca had been a leading official at the F.D.A. involved in reviewing FluMist.
But Giuseppe Farina, a leading official in part of the same union, said he wanted more detail.
A leading official for the Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat, called Gingrich's comments "the lowest point of thinking anyone can reach… He is denying our existence".
The government offered promises that typically proved illusory; just a year before the revolution, a leading official promised that Imbaba would soon look like Cairo's most upscale neighborhoods.
"President Yasir Arafat ordered the release of all Bir Zeit University students," said Walid Wahdan, a leading official of Mr. Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction.
A leading official with Ansar Dine in Timbuktu has boasted of its closeness to the group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is responsible for numerous kidnappings and killings of Westerners in the region.
The frenzy over the Powerball lottery has continued to build after Saturday's drawing failed to produce a winner, leading officials to increase the jackpot Monday to a jaw-dropping $1.4 billion.
Near Brunswick, the earthquake caused "significant discoloration and a reduction in the quality of the water" of a spring, leading officials to warn against using the water until further notice.
A village at the base of Mt. Langtang, about 35 miles north of Katmandu, was reportedly wiped out by an avalanche, leading officials to believe that nearly all its 200 inhabitants were killed.
The New York Daily News says Blazer used a hidden microphone in a key ring to record a series of conversations with leading officials on a visit to London in the summer of 2012.
And in Georgia, some voters failed to provide details like a birth year, leading officials to reject hundreds of absentee ballots for "insufficient oath information" before federal judges intervened.
