Certain adjectives change their meanings depending if they appear before or after the noun.
Here's the case of ancien:
Before the noun, ancien means former / ex- / no longer
After the noun it means ancient / old
After the noun it means ancient / old
The adjective ancien in the sense of "ancient" is not really used in French for people.
Remember that generally adjectives appear after the noun, but some very common adjectives go before (See Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns (adjective position) and Short and common adjectives that go BEFORE nouns (adjective position))
See also:
Propre = own / clean (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Cher= dear / expensive (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Certain = specific / sure (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Dernier = final / previous (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Vrai = real / true (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
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