Definition of "ranking"

Eldred Pottinger was now the ranking political officer and had negotiated—at the insistence of the army's officers—an unmolested passage to Jalalabad.

2002, Stephen Tanner, Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban, page 176

In a region as large and sparsely populated as this, it is not surprising that there are few cities. Hu-ho-hao-t’e and Pao-t’ou are the two ranking cities of Inner Mongolia. Hu-ho-hao-t’e, the capital of the region, is one of China's famous ancient cities; it was once a trade center to which the wool, hides, food, and medicine from the surrounding grasslands were brought.

1973, Chiao-min Hsieh, “Inner Mongolia”, in Christopher L. Salter, editor, Atlas of China‎, McGraw-Hill, Inc., page 188, column 1

But neither leader nor followers give up the rhythms or reasons of a ranking MC, and I'm grieved to report that only “Kick Out the Jams” overcomes the formlessness of personality his detractors have always charged him with — […]

1990, Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s, page 48